According to results, the most technologically-skilled GPs are from Denmark, Norway and Spain. The least from Czech Republic, Latvia and Lithuania.
Four indicators taken into account: electronic health record, health information exchange, telehealth and personal health records.
The rapid growth of mHealth (1), which includes smartphone apps and other tools, such as sensors and robots enabling remote monitoring, ambient assisted living and real-time communication between and amongst patients and health professionals, is bringing eHealth closer to end users and narrowing the digital divide. However, as the recent report on ‘Health inequalities and eHealth’ by the eHealth Stakeholder Group (2) points out, everybody approaches technology in a different way and there are still many barriers related to the effective use of eHealth beyond the initial hurdles of access and affordability.
Now, however, Telefonica Digital, a division of Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica, is hoping to kick-start the e-health revolution. The company has acquired a stake in Saluspot, a health community which aims to connect doctors and patients via a question and answer service.
Read more: Case study: Is e-health a cure for European healthcare?
Yannis Sirros, head of the Federation of Hellenic ICT Enterprises (SEPE) told EurActiv Greece in an interview that Europe will need 900,000 skilled ICT workers by 2020. To address the issue, the SEPE together with Digital Europe on Tuesday (6 May) hosted the conference "E-Skills for Jobs 2014 Grand Event: Mobilising to Support Job Creation and Upskilling of the Workforce" in Athens, Greece.
Read more: EU attempts to bridge e-skills gap between north and south
The Brussels-based organization has put out a call for comments by July 3, after which the commission will publish a summary of the responses by the end of the year. Possible policy actions are expected in 2015.
Read more: European Commission calls for comments on mHealth