The fifth edition of the Artic Light E-health Conference in Norrbotten is an opportunity to look back on one of the major achievements of the AER e-health network. The event brought together 300 participants from 16 countries in the world this year around the themes of digital transformation & health equity.
Scale e-health awareness
The AER e-health network was created back in 2006 to support the deployment of e-health solutions and enable experience sharing. It has since been involved in the preparation and implementation of Smart Care, the largest EU deployment project of integrated care e-services and Engaged, a mutual learning network of diverse stakeholders in the field of IT innovation and active and healthy ageing. Since 2010 AER has also been an organising partner of the Arctic Light E-health Conference (ALEC) in Norrbotten which brings each time over 200 participants together to raise awareness, engage professionals, informal carers and patients around the deployment of e-health. The conference itself grew over time to become the major international event it is now.
“Houston, we have a problem? Norrbotten, we’ve got a solution!”
The ALEC conferences have allowed to take stock of the evolution in e-health over the past 7 years and more importantly to share experiences, good practices, stories… and the bumpy road to successful deployment.
Mutual learning and meaningful networking are among the main benefits participants mention when speaking about the ALEC experience. Over the years, speakers have included President Ilves of Estonia, who used to lead the EU working group on e-health, Sweden’s Minister of Digital Development Peter Eriksson, Dr. Robert Wah, CSC’s Global Chief Medical Officer and many other representatives from the care sector, business, academia and patients.
A multiplier effect
While the AER e-health network is a place to share and develop projects, it is also a multiplier for regional initiatives. As Agneta Granström said during the opening session of the ALEC 2017 conference “Alone we can only do so much. Together we can do everything”. This is also an encouragement for other regions to follow and use the tremendous potential of the network, not only in the field of e-health but also any other topic relevant to AER members.
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