'Europe' in healthcare technology

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Estonia and Finland sign trailblazing medication deal

From emerging-europe.com - October 20, 2018 6:49 AM

Estonia and Finland have signed an agreement which will allow Finns to purchase prescription medication in Estonia via e-prescriptions by the end of December.

Estonians will receive reciprocal rights in 2019.

The two countries hope that the deal will set a precedent other EU members will follow.

In an interview with Euractiv, Estonian Health Minister Riina Sikkut said that it is common practice for healthcare professionals in Estonia to use the e-health system to exchange patient medical records.

“But it is also important for people who have a need for healthcare services abroad to have his or her health data available to a doctor, nurse or a pharmacist so that they could also provide quality healthcare services and continuity of care,” said Ms Sikkut.

One concern which has prevented such agreements gaining traction before now is that digital prescriptions being available EU-wide could lead to medical tourism.

“When Finnish digital prescriptions become valid in Estonia, pharmaceutical drugs can only be bought here by the person to whom the drug is prescribed,” Kaidi Kelt, chief executive of Benu Pharmacies in Estonia, told Baltic News Services (BNS). She added that the possibility of medical tourism can thus be ruled out, stating that a person cannot collect all of their acquaintances’ prescriptions and make regular trips to Estonia simply to buy pharmaceutical drugs in bulk.

“Pharmaceutical drugs vary in their price and there is no reason to presume that everything is always cheaper in Estonia,” explains Ms Kelt.

“All European pharmacists are keeping an eye on us. The success of this project between Estonia and Finland could pave the way for implementing cross-border digital prescriptions in other EU states as well.”

Estonia also wants to be one of the first to implement the exchange of patient history, as part of the EU’s e-Health Digital Service Infrastructure (eHDSI) project.

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Genomics: A futuristic approach in Estonia

From nuadox.com - August 5, 2017 6:08 PM

Genomics is the study of the genome, which is the complete set of DNA in an organism. In 2000, the Estonian government declared internet accessto be a human right. The Estonian government has integrated technology into the fabrics of society and advancing genomics over the last 17 years.

Andres Metspalu, MD, PhD professor at the University of Tartu explains the “big picture” approach to healthcare, data, genomics, and rights of the local population to access health technology. In Estonia, medical genomics covers biobank, ehealth, micoarry analysis (used to study the extent to which certain genes are turned on or off in cells and tissues) and genomic sequencing.

Estonia even shares data with its neighbor Finland where both countries’ citizens can receive their prescriptions refills in either country. Every Estonian citizen carries a smart ID and mobile card to access healthcare, banking, and any governmental institutions.

more at the original at http://nuadox.com/post/163817810337/genomics-a-futuristic-approach-in-estonia

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Major grant for development of ehealth program for cardiac rehabilitation

From www.radboudumc.nl - October 20, 2018 1:37 AM

Every year, more than 3 million people in Europe experience a heart attack. For half of them, this is not the first time. Most of these recurrent heart attacks can be prevented by improving the lifestyle after the first heart attack, for which patients are often offered cardiac rehabilitation. These programs consist of exercise and lifestyle recommendations. Cardiac rehabilitation is provided at specialized centers.

According to estimates, if all cardiac patients were to undergo cardiac rehabilitation, the mortality from myocardial infarctions could fall by 26 percent and hospital admissions by more than 30 percent. Despite these benefits, less than half of cardiac patients receive cardiac rehabilitation. This lack of participation is mainly due the distance to the cardiac rehabilitation centers, which patients experience as being too far. There are also many objections to the limited possibilities for taking an individualized program.

Research has shown that an internet-based rehabilitation program can achieve the same results as rehabilitation at a center. An e-health application for cardiac rehabilitation could therefore eliminate many obstacles for patients.

However, such an application is not yet available.

With Eurostar funding of € 1.9 million, a European consortium of researchers and companies will create CaRe, a mobile platform for cardiac rehabilitation.

Maria Hopman is creating this e-health program for cardiac rehabilitation together with a consortium of Danish and Swiss companies. Starting in 2021, the program will be available for physiotherapists and hospitals in Europe.

more at https://www.radboudumc.nl/en/news/2018/major-grant-for-development-of-e-health-program-for-cardiac-rehabilitation

nrip's insight:

This week I am finding a lot of exciting pilots being funded well enough to take them to commercialization. Which is excellent. However, I find a number of such pilots seem to overlap in ideas and purpose. I wish there is collaboration of ideas between similar projects, especially, if not only to avoid another lack of interoperability scenario, arising 3-4 years from now, and causing pain for patients and care givers alike.

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