European Commission supports telemedicine initiatives

The societal and economic benefits from wider use of telemedicine are potentially huge. Yet, at the present moment, they are far from being fully appreciated or achieved.

To help realize the potential to enhance patients' lives and to offer new tools to health professionals through telemedicine the European Commission announced its full support for Member States and stakeholders in a Communication on Telemedicine.

Now is the time for telemedicine, the Commission concludes, adding that making this initiative a success depends on the active engagement of Member States who uniquely can provide the necessary organisation and funding for their healthcare systems.

The Communication on Telemedicine follows on the eHealth High Level Conference Declaration in May, 2008 where Member States' representatives acknowledged the urgency of ensuring wider deployment of telemedicine services and innovative ICT tools for chronic disease management.

Member States are urged to assess their needs and priorities in telemedicine by the end of 2009 and by the end of 2011 Member States need to have assessed and adapted national regulations enabling wider access to telemedicine services.

Support from the EU level during this period is outlined in eight actions in the Communication on Telemedicine

The European Commission concludes that telemedicine can help address the major challenges to healthcare systems in Europe and offer major opportunities for the European industry.