Europe sets out plan for ‘European E-health Area’
European Commissioner for Health and Human Protection, David Byrne, has called for the creation of a common ‘European e-health area’ in which patients are able to freely move between member states to receive care. With many member states due to start issuing the new E111 health insurance card in June, Byrne said the European health […]
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Crashed cars to text for help
Researchers funded by the European Commission are to begin tests this month of a system called E-merge that automatically senses when a car has crashed and then sends a text message telling emergency services that the accident has taken place. The E-merge system consists of a cellphone-sized device fitted in the car. Attached to the underside […]
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Monday looks certain to be C-Day
After weeks of frenzied speculation, much of it by E-Health Insider readers in our E-Health Forums, conjecture on contract award day – ‘C-day’ – now appears over. Monday, 8 December now looks certain to be ‘C-day’, the date on which the first major contract awards by the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) will be officially […]
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DH Places Advert for Prime Contractors
The UK Department of Health has published an advert in the Official Journal of the European Commission (OJEC) for prime contractors to deliver the National Implementation Programme for the national NHS IT programme: Delivering 21st Century IT Support for the NHS. The advert, which was placed just ahead of Christmas, guaranteed that many would-be prime […]
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European Mobile Health Takes First Steps
Mobile health aims to do nothing less than turn traditional healthcare on its head. As numerous speakers at Mobile Health Europe pointed out, to describe care provided away from a doctor’s office or hospital clinic as "remote care" misses the point entirely if you’re a patient. The promise of mobile healthcare is to enable care […]
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European Commission Proposes Health ID Card
The European Union has unveiled proposals to introduce a Europe-wide health card, which would make it easier for EU citizens to get medical treatment in all 15 member states. The European Commission wants to bring in the new electronic card by 2005. The Commission says the scheme would make it easier for people to work […]
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UK Government Warms to Open Source Software
The Cabinet Office has published a consultation paper on use of Open Source Software (OSS) within the UK Government sector –- including the NHS — that concludes the development of OSS represents a fundamental change in the software market. OSS, software whose source code is openly published, is usually available at no charge, and is […]
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URAC Publishes Guide to E-Health Ethics
URAC, in partnership with the Internet Healthcare Coalition, has published a new guide on e-health ethics. The publication, ‘The New Frontier: Exploring eHealth Ethics’, compiles, for the first time, all the major ethical codes and guidelines for health Web sites. The new book also includes a variety of articles contributed by online health community leaders […]
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Docobo Demonstrates Benefits of Cardiac Monitoring System
Docobo Ltd, the leading Estonian telemedicine firm, has announced the publication of favourable results for clinical trials of its doc@home home monitoring programme for patients with hypertension, which it claims confirm the usefulness of the system for treating cardiac patients. Benefits identified in the trials included reductions in patients’ blood pressure and body weight, together […]
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