The European Commission aims to use technology to improve its nations' healthcare. John Collins reports
An ageing population, rising rates of chronic illness and migration to wealthier parts of Europe are all conspiring to put pressure on government delivery of healthcare in all the nations of the EU.
To meet these challenges, the health sector is increasingly turning to technology and the use of the internet.
Whether it's accessing a patient's history from a central database, allowing people to make GP appointments online or the electronic distribution of diagnostic results, the collective name being given to this phenomenon is eHealth.
The European Commission has nailed its colours firmly to the mast and is encouraging member states to embrace eHealth initiatives. It sees eHealth as a way to improve the quality of healthcare, improve the training levels and standard of health professionals and provide increased access to healthcare for all members of the community.
In its 2004 action plan on the subject, the commission defined eHealth as "the application of information and communication tecnologies across the whole range of functions that affect the health sector".
Since 1989 the EU has devoted research budgets to this area and Ireland has had notable success in securing European funding for health projects. Ursula O'Sullivan, IT and EU projects manager with the HSE's national ICT directorate, says that while the direct benefits of European funding is important, there are other financial benefits such as attracting matching national funding and the freeing up of cash to spend on other services.
For example, by moving to electronic delivery of lab results to GPs, €2.4 million per year has been saved on postage.
While the administrators clearly see the benefits, the public also seems to have an appetite for the electronic delivery of health information. Figures presented at the recent eHealth 2006 conference in Spain showed that among 10 European nations surveyed, Ireland had the highest percentage of patients (more than 30 per cent) who will search online for information after visiting a doctor.
At eHealth 2006, politicians, policymakers, clinicians and academics came together to discuss the transition to eHealth, its impact on patients and professionals and how it can be best achieved.
Countries such as Sweden, Denmark and France showcased both national and hospital-level systems which have been delivering benefits for many years. For example, the Danish system has replaced hundreds of different paper-based forms for common tasks such as a discharge or referral, with a single electronic form.
All doctors, medical centres and hospitals can also communicate electronically in a secure fashion regardless of the IT platform they are using.
Newer EU nations have been able to leapfrog some of the EU 15 because they did not make investments in older systems and so are able to start with a clean slate rather than facing the cost of integrating legacy data and systems.
For example, by the end of 2008 Estonia will have fully implemented an electronic health records system for all patients which will mean clinicians can access their records wherever they are being treated in the country. On top of that system it will have built systems for digital prescriptions, registration of patients and for the sharing of diagnostic images.
The Irish health service is currently in the process of implementing a national electronic patient records system, which is being supplied by British software company iSoft.
"The first important steps have been taken such as the establishment of an enabling infrastructure and the deployment of an integrated patient management system, which will grow over time to incorporate clinical and community modules," says O'Sullivan.
"The iSoft solution is in use in four of the five NHS regions in the UK and was already in proven use in Ireland before being selected as national system."
While there may be high profile examples of how eHealth is benefiting patients and health professionals around Europe, the health sector is not exactly embracing new technology. O'Sullivan says that it accounts for only 2 per cent of total technology spending in Europe.
In fact, she believes the e-health tag can actually be unhelpful. "By putting a label on it, people think it's something different and it is going to be a disruption or an add-on to their main job," says O'Sullivan.