E-health can be defined as the different applications of information and communication technologies to healthcare. It may well be one of the areas where the added value brought by the action of the EU is the most evident. E-health is situated at the junction of several social and economic objectives set by the EU. It is also an area which particularly benefits from the implementation of scale economies, the exchange of best practices, the establishment of a solidarity and, last but not least, from technical harmonisation.
In the framework of both the Lisbon Strategy and the i2010 initiative, ehealth is a way of accelerating the achievement of a knowledge-based economy.

At the same time, e-health is also part of the Renewed Social Agenda and of the Programme of Community Action in the field of Health. Ageing and the recrudescence of chronic diseases question health systems’ sustainability. Information and Communication Technologies represent an answer in order to guarantee quality standards in health care for all.

Furthermore, the financial crisis accentuates the need to rationalise the health sector and to search for scale economies.
E-health is European because it is naturally suited for cooperation and networking. The purpose is not to question the Member States’ competence in determining how e-health should be applied at their level.
However, their efforts should be coordinated. For example, the proposal for a Directive on patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare creates a health technology assessment network. The proposal does not force Member States to introduce on-line health system or services. Nonetheless, when these applications do exist at national level, the Commission could work on measures to ensure their inter-operability. Finally, the text proposes the creation of European Reference Networks, designed more particularly for patients suffering from rare diseases, which will maximise the health technologies’ speed and scale of diffusion.
E-health clearly has a European dimension. However, its benefits on patients and health professionals are more evident at the level of the Member States. This is the reason why, with its Recommendations and Communications, the EU complements the initiatives adopted at national level.
E-health enhances in several ways the quality of healthcare provided by the health professionals. Electronic medical files give information which can be used to determine with precision the adequate treatment for each patient,
including those who come from other Member States when the files are interoperable.
E-health is useful to make diagnostics since it can connect different health professionals, regardless of their place of residence. Finally, as the Communication published in November 2008 on telemedicine underlines it, telemonitoring and teleradiology extend the notion of «work place» for health professionals. However, it should be noted that it is only by adequate training that we can ensure that health professionals benefit from these different applications.
Patients should also be made aware of the potential benefits of e-health.
In general, e-health makes the health system more patient-oriented. Telemedicine is particularly relevant for those who suffer from chronic diseases and those who live in areas where the offer of healthcare is limited. Interoperable electronic health files ensure a continuity of care for those who travel to another Member State. The future electronic version of the European health card will make it easier for patients to be reimbursed when they are treated in another Member State. Finally, e-health also refers to all the Internet sites which contain information about health and answer to patients’ questions.
The Commission has established quality criteria for these sites and is also providing information to patients through the European health portal.

To conclude, e-health is a key part of the «Europe for patients» that I promote. E-health is European because it has a cross-border dimension and constitutes an answer to the different socio-economic objectives set out by the EU. It is about patients because it contributes to the quality of healthcare provided to all of them, regardless of their place of residence or their age. For all these reasons, we should continue to act together and promote the expansion of e-health, within a framework respecting health data confidentiality.

Androulla VASSILIOU
EU Commissioner, Health