Med-e-Tel to focus on spreading telemedicine
- 24 March 2009
The first Med-e-Tel telemedicine and e-health conference to be held since the European Commission’s Telemedicine Communication will take place in Luxembourg next week.
The Commission’s Telemedicine Communication, which provides an ambitious framework for dramatically improving access to telemedicine for EU citizens and healthcare professionals across Europe, was published in November 2008, and will be a central focus of the 2009 Med-e-Tel event.
Now in its seventh year the Med-e-Tel international telemedicine and telecare conference, which takes place 1-3 April 2009, promises a ‘broad menu’ of keynote speakers, addressing key topics highlighted in the Commision’s communication.
Conference topics range from issues relating to reimbursement and acceptance problems across the EU.
Frederic Lievens, international coordinator for Med-e-Tel told E-Health Europe: “Now is the time for big steps to be taken in e-health by getting down to practical issues to overcome stumbling blocks.”
Med-e-Tel has announced that the opening speaker will be Mars Di Bartolomeo, the Minister of Health and Social Security for Luxembourg.
Other key speakers presenting at the event will include Michael Nerlich, the president of the International Society for Telemedicine e-health and Martin Denz, the president of European Health Telematics Association (EHTEL).
The conference also this year promised larger involvement by two European projects, Ten4Health and Netcards, than in past years.
The European Netcards projects will be holding a workshop on the deployment of an online service for the electronic European Health Insurance Card.
The other project by Ten4Health will present a workshop called ‘citizens’ services for borderless healthcare in the European Union: practical solutions.’
Lievens said this year there would be: “The workshops are going to be a lot more interactive raising more debate. Last year there were more presentations but less discussion time but this year it’s more integrated.”
The conference will be attended by around 500 people including providers, industry companies, researchers and those involved with addressing the policy on behalf of government agencies.
It will also involve more than 50 people representing different countries and exhibit over 30 stands showcasing European projects.
Lievens continued: “Med-e-Tel helps to put all these people together to help them network and understand that telehealth is not only technically possible, but also acceptable. If everyone shares their recent and past experiences, development and future implementation with continue to increase.”
E-Health Europe will be reporting from Med-e-Tel next week.
Links
The Communication on Telemedicine
Med-e-Tel conference programme published
