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President Ilves: we need the free movement of health records in the European Union
24.04.2012
"Digitally recorded health records for each and every individual belong to the specific individual; he or she must have access to these records at any time to determine the best possible treatment alternatives wherever they may be in Europe, if appropriate," said the leader of the European Union e-health work group, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, today in Tallinn at an international seminar on telemedicine policy recommendations.
President Ilves, who took part in a panel discussion, said that any given European of today will not necessarily be living in their original home country. "The free movement of people within the European Union will also mean that we may end up being patients outside our own country; therefore, we need the free – yet most definitely secure – movement of our health records. Consequently, the European Union is facing a serious challenge – finding e-solutions that will allow us all to obtain high-quality treatment anywhere in Europe," said the Estonian Head of State, who leads the EU e-health work group that is to present a final e-health report at the meeting of the European Union health care ministers in Copenhagen in May.
President Ilves added that in a situation where the health care expenses of the European Union member states are to grow considerably, merely for demographic reasons, in the coming years, more extensive use of e-health solutions would allow for an improvement in the efficiency of the system, therefore saving billions of euros.
Medical workers, IT developers, public sector employees and e-health experts participated in today's international seminar on telemedicine policy recommendations.
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