This year the e-Health week ran from 13 to 15 May 2013 and took place in Dublin under the auspicious of the Irish Presidency.
During the event dr. James Reilly, Minister for Health, explained the main goals of the eHealth week, which are to:
Moreover, Minister Reilly advocated for enhanced collaboration between the health service and industry, as an impulse for innovation and improved patient care. An efficient collaboration between stakeholders will also help to meet the challenges of rising costs, increased demand for services, chronic disease management and ageing population.
The future Irish strategy in the field of eHealth would build on the 2012 report of the EU taskforce “redefining health in Europe for 2020” as well as the work done by the World Health organization and other agencies. This will be possible thanks to the fact that Ireland hosts many pharmaceutical and medical device companies, as Reilly explicitly reported.
The Irish strategy would emphasize:
While quite general, the fact that the Irish Presidency has paid particular attention to eHealth during their presidency is positive for VPH, given that they are also responsible for working on Horizon 2020. Their focus also introduces the topic to many Member States that are not familiar with eHealth solutions such as VPH.
