Brussels, 26 April 2018
EU Communication on Digital Transformation of
Health and Care in the Digital Single Market
With the objective of rethinking our health and care systems to address the many challenges ahead, the European Commission launched yesterday a communication on digital transformation of health. According to the proposal, the digitalization of health will have a major positive impact on everyone’s ability to live in good health provided action is taken in three areas: citizens’ secure access to and sharing of health data across borders; better data to advance research, disease prevention and personalised health and care; digital tools for citizen empowerment and person-centred care.
“We have not yet had time to analyse the proposal in details but as a starting point, it should be reminded that universal access to healthcare means that everyone should be given equal access to the benefits of greater and better coordinated digital transformation of health across the EU”, stresses Anne-Sophie Parent, Secretary-General of AGE Platform Europe. “This remains one of the major challenges of digitalization, but the first requirement to be met if we want to avoid further increasing health inequalities in Europe”.
“Health is an area where great improvements can be achieved thanks to new technologies, but this must go in hand with improved human-based patient-centered approaches and optimized data protection to avoid abuse and discrimination”, concludes Parent. “We will now analyse the proposal with our members and experts and will react soon to its main proposals from the perspective of older citizens”.
Useful links:
- Transformation of Health and Care in the Digital Single Market: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/european-policy-ehealth
- AGE reply to EU consultation on digital health: https://www.age-platform.eu/policy-work/news/age-replies-eu-consultation-digital-health
- AGE Special Briefing on eHealth: https://www.age-platform.eu/special-briefing/ehealth-solution-sustainable-public-health-europe
