HealthTech Wire

There are some expert events of the European eHealth community that have never really made it into the media spotlight. Despite this, many of them still deserve to be recognized for their contribution in helping advance the continent's eHealth infrastructure. The annual Symposium of the European Health Telematics Association (EHTEL) is such an event. It kicked off today in Brussels at the headquarters of the Committee of the Regions.

The European Commission’s Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE) is a flagship initiative of the EU 2020 strategy, which focuses on sustainable growth through ICT. eHealth is a key part of it, said Flora Girogio of the EC’s ICT for Health unit, speaking at the Global eHealth Forum in Hamburg today. The DAE will develop the necessary infrastructure.

The inaugural Global eHealth Forum, a successor to the Baltic eHealth Conference, opened today in Hamburg, Germany. More than 200 delegates have already registered for the event, making it one of the highlights on the annual eHealth events calendar from the outset.

The success of eHealth in Europe depends on how patient-oriented applications are. Ilias Iakovidis, Acting Head of the unit "ICT for Health," DG Information Society and Media, European Commission, talks to HealthTech Wire about how this year’s eHealth conference can contribute to this goal and why 2010 will be an interesting year for eHealth in Europe.