Berlin health conference will focus on IT

Next week sees hundreds of senior health officials from across Europe congregate in Berlin, Germany, for the 4th Annual World Health Care Congress Europe.

As a supporting publication, E-Health Europe will be reporting live from the event, bringing you all the latest developments in European e-health.

As a taster of what’s expected to be announced at the conference, E-Health Europe looks ahead to the discussions set to take place at one of Europe’s largest healthcare gatherings – hosted at the city’s Estrel Hotel over three days.

There are four key summit offerings this year, and in particular, E-Health Europe will be focusing on summit two – implementing health IT.

Key speakers in the summit include Gert-Jan van Boven, managing director of NICTIZ – the national hub for ICT in knowledge and innovation in healthcare in the Netherlands, and Jacques Sauret, the general director of GIP-DMP – France’s national programme.

The summit, sponsored by BT Health, will look at issues including overcoming implementation challenges, using applications for improved care, using IT for improving work flows and integrating care and a focus on telehealth and remote monitoring.

Elsewhere, a summit looking at patient safety will look at how to leverage IT to promote best practice and improve quality.

In the main arena, the morning of day three has been dedicated to looking at implementations of national IT infrastructures.

Key speakers at this plenary session will include Sir Jonathan Michael, deputy managing director, of BT Health, Sir Muir Gray, chief knowledge officer for England’s Department of Health, Norbert Paland, head of the telematics division, at the German Federal Ministry of Health and Patrice Blémont, director of the Regional Hospitalisation Agency of Franche-Comté.

Lindsay Pater, executive director of the World Health Care Congress Europe, told EHE: “This year’s congress is set to be the biggest one yet. It will be a three-day congress to convene 600 healthcare leaders from more than 50 countries to share best practices and initiatives for improving healthcare delivery in Europe. Health ministers from Hungary, The Netherlands and Ireland and other EU countries will address what lies ahead in the continent’s most important public sector.

“Organised under the high patronage of the European Commission and the German Federal Ministry of Health, the World Health Care Congress Europe is the only major global forum where healthcare leaders share best practices and initiatives for improved delivery and outcomes in Europe.”

Health ministers from Hungary, The Netherlands, Ireland, Poland, Russia and Estonia will address the ‘What lies ahead: Adapting Healthcare Strategies to Changing Demographics ministerial roundtable’ on day two.

Accenture will use day one to promote the Accenture Care Management Services – a new service which enables organisations to identify specific patients at risk of costly and preventable escalations of their personal health based on patient profiles with more than 1000 facts derived from claims data of 5 sectors, sociodemographic facts and coaching facts derived during direct interaction with patients in full compliance with European data security law.

Other main keynote presenters include David Nicholson, chief executive of England’s Department of Health and National Health Service, Dr Michael Wilks, president of the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) in Belgium and Dr Hans Jürgen Ahrens, chairman of Germany’s largest health insurer AOK-Bundesverband.

Pater said: “A wide audience will be with us in Berlin, and we encourage readers to attend. Thought-leaders attending include health ministers, leading government officials, hospital directors, IT innovators, decision makers from public and private insurance funds, pharmaceutical and medical device companies, and health care suppliers. The event features visionary keynote addresses, controversial debates, dynamic panel discussions, case studies, tutorials and roundtable discussions – suitable for all.”

E-Health Europe will have a stand at the event, and look forward to meeting some of our readers in Berlin.

EHE reader offer

As EHE is a media partner of the congress, E-Health Europe readers are eligible for a 25% discount for attending the congress, just register to attend and mention the special promotion code AJS364 when you pay.

Link

The 4th Annual World Health Care Congress Europe