European E-Health Framework: Towards More “Patient-Friendly” Healthcare Services?

Abstract

European health systems are under mounting pressure to respond to the challenges of population ageing, citizens’ rising expectations, migration, and mobility of patients and health professionals. New technologies have the potential to revolutionize healthcare and health systems and to contribute to their future sustainability. However the organizational and regulatory environment of e-health has not progressed as rapidly as technology both in national and European level. The key issue in the European sphere is whether and to what extent it interferes with public health policy and should be treated separately from the more “traditional” healthcare. The proposed chapter will define e-health from a European perspective, present the different steps of the European policy in the field, insist on the organizational and regulatory issues that arise and discuss drives and barriers towards achieving pan European “patient-friendly” healthcare services.