The Estonian Presidency is inviting stakeholders to take part in a Digital Health Society Declaration consultation (photo: Annika Haas/EU2017EE)
Together, the Estonian Presidency of the Council of European Union and ECHAllianceinvite stakeholders interested in the development of digital health to take part in the consultation process of the Digital Health Society (DHS) Declaration.
The declaration calls on EU players to act on the current main challenges to digital health deployment and will be co-signed during the high-level e-health conference taking place from 16 to 18 October in Tallinn, Estonia.
The declaration will integrate input from all stakeholders interested in the development of digital health. “More than 100 organisations – leading European Union stakeholders representing policy makers, citizens, health professionals, scientists, companies and payers – are already working on this document that can make a difference to really achieve the digital transformation of healthcare systems,” said Ain Aaviksoo, Estonia’s Deputy Secretary General of E-services Development and Innovation. “There is a growing demand for using digital solutions to the benefit of people’s health. To have full control over their health, citizens must also have control over their health data. The DHS can help the EU achieve this in collaboration.”
The DHS has set up four Task Forces facilitated by ECHAlliance in order to generate action plans, tangible projects and commitments from EU stakeholders. The topics are:
> Convergence on interoperability standards and digital tele-healthcare protocol, led by Erik Gerritsen, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Health of the Netherlands
> Data donors and citizen-controlled data governance, led by Angela Brand, professor at Maastricht University
> Legal framework facilitating the free flow of data and the 2nd use of data, led by Bleddyn Rees, lawyer and digital health expert at Osbourne Clarke
> Digital transformation and change management in health and social care organisations, led by Richard Corbridge, CIO of Health Service Executive and CEO of eHealth Ireland
In addition, a cross-country European health data cooperation network has been launched to facilitate the use of health data for research and development and is being led by Ain Aaviksoo, the Deputy Secretary General of E-services Development and Innovation from the Ministry of Social Affairs of Estonia.
Each DHS Task Force will publish its conclusions in September 2017.
“It will be associated with a call for commitments and actions to all stakeholders in Europe willing to move forward on these specific topics, following the roadmap and actions plan described by the Task Forces,” said Brian O’Connor, Chair of the ECHAlliance.
Anyone interested in contributing to the DHS declaration and the DHS Task Forces can participate in the consultation process online. The declaration will constitute an input for the debates of EU ministers, and EU Council conclusions about digital health.
Article Source: https://www.eu2017.ee/news/insights/estonian-presidency-invites-stakeholders-take-part-consultation-digital-health
