F5 FORUM
Sponsored and organised by the DG CONNECT, European Commission
Today, with the prevalence of chronic diseases, demand for health and social services increasing and becoming more expensive and a scarcity of resources (e.g. healthcare professionals), telemedicine is a key tool, not only because it can improve prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation, but also because of its cost-effectiveness. However, at the same time, the most frequently cited barrier to the implementation of telemedicine solutions globally is the perception that the cost of telemedicine is too high.
The purpose of this session is to demonstrate the effectiveness of telemedicine for tackling chronic and other diseases such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), chronic heart failure and depression, and also to share strong evidence that indeed telemedicine can be used in a cost-effective way. This will be demonstrated by presenting a series of EU projects such as United4Health and MasterMind, which pay particular attention to cost-effectiveness, providing the required evidence that is currently missing and impeding the deployment of telemedicine. All of the presented projects pay a lot of attention to the dissemination and exploitation of results among policy-makers, healthcare managers, patients/citizens, insurers and healthcare professionals.
This session will also provide an opportunity to share the experience of Member States who have been successful in implementing telemedicine as well as underlining the importance of good data collection for telemedicine.
Introduction
Peteris Zilgalvis, Head of Health and Well-Being Unit, DG CONNECT, European Commission
Speakers
Claus Duedal Pedersen, Chief Innovation Officer, Odense University Hospital, Denmark
Anne Fullaondo Zabala, Project Manager, International Research Center for Chronicity (Kronikgune), Spain
Heleen Riper, Professor, VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Peeter Ross, eHealth expert, eHealth Foundation, Estonia
Ernst Hafen, Professor, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Peteris Zilgalvis, Head of Health and Well-Being Unit, DG CONNECT, European Commission
Moderation
Edwin Maarseveen, Policy Officer, eHealth Unit, DG Health and Consumers, European Commission