Annexes to COM(2008)689 - Telemedicine for the benefit of patients, healthcare systems and society - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2008)689 - Telemedicine for the benefit of patients, healthcare systems and society. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2008)689  |
| date | November 4, 2008 |
THREE LEVELS OF ACTIONS FOR THE YEARS AHEAD
Actions at the level of Member States
5. Member States are urged to assess their needs and priorities in telemedicine by the end of 2009. These priorities should form part of the national health strategies to be presented and discussed at the 2010 eHealth Ministerial Conference.
6. By the end of 2011, Member States should have assessed and adapted their national regulations enabling wider access to telemedicine services. Issues such as accreditation, liability, reimbursement, privacy and data protection should be addressed.
Member States' actions to be supported at EU level
7. In 2009, the Commission will establish a European platform to support Member States in sharing information on current national legislative frameworks relevant to telemedicine and proposals for new national regulations.
8. In 2009, the Commission, in cooperation with Member States, will publish an analysis of the Community legal framework applicable to telemedicine services.
9. By the end of 2010, the Commission invites industry and international standardisation bodies to issue a proposal on the interoperability of telemonitoring systems, including both existing and new standards.
10. By the end of 2011, the Commission, in cooperation with Member States, will issue a policy strategy paper on how to ensure interoperability, quality and security of telemonitoring systems based on existing or emerging standards at European level.
Actions to be undertaken by the Commission
11. In 2010, the Commission, via its Competitiveness and Innovation Programme, will support a large-scale telemonitoring pilot project. This will include a network of procurers and payers of healthcare services.
12. The Commission will support the development, by 2011, of guidelines for consistent assessment of the impact of telemedicine services, including effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. This will be based on the work of experts in the field, Commission-supported studies, large-scale pilot schemes and relevant research projects.
13. The Commission will continue to contribute to European collaboration between health professionals and patients in key areas with the potential for greater application of telemedicine, in order to make specific recommendations on how to improve confidence in and acceptance of telemedicine, also taking into account ethical and privacy related aspects.
14. The Commission will support the collection of good practice on deployment of telemedicine services in the different Member States.
[1] COM(2005) 229 final, 1.06.2005
[2] COM(2007) 860 final, 21.12.2007
[3] COM(2008) 412 final, 2.07.2008
[4] European Parliament resolution 2006/2275(INI) of 23 May 2007
[5] COM(2007) 630 final, 23.10.2007
[6] COM(2004) 356 final, 30.4.2004
[7] The issue of electronic health records has been addressed in a recent Commission Recommendation: C(2008) 3282 final, 2.07.2008
[8] Paré G et al. . Systematic review of home telemonitoring for chronic diseases: the evidence base. J AM Med Inform Assoc. 2007;14:269-277.
[9] Electronic devices, which might be portable, wearable or implantable collect data on specific health parameters
[10] McMurray et al. The burden of heart failure. Eur Heart J Suppl 4 (2002): D50-D58.
[11] Louis AA et al. A systematic review of telemonitoring for the management of heart failure. Eur J Heart Fail. 2003 Oct;5(5):583-90.
[12] Chaudhry SI et al. Telemonitoring for patients with chronic heart failure: a systematic review. J Card Fail. 2007 Feb;13(1):56-62.
[13] European Society of Radiology, Nov. 2006.
[14] www.ehealth2008.si/
[15] As defined by Directive 98/34/EC.
[16] See notably Müller and Van Riet (case C-385/99) [2003]; Smits and Peerbooms (case C-157/99) [2001]; Watts (case C-372/04) [2006].
[17] Provided that they are not covered by one the exceptions laid down by Directive 98/34/EC as amended by Directive 98/48/EC.
[18] COM (2008) 414 final, 2.7.2008
[19] As stipulated in the proposal in its articles 3,5 and 11
[20] Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 of 5 July 2006
[21] Health Information Network Europe (HINE), 2006 - European eHealth forecast (report)