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Integrated care: beginning of an ambitious project

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What is the added value of integrated care? Integrated care is about closing the traditional gap that exists between health and social care: exploring and demonstrating its potential is the mission of the SmartCare, a project co-funded by the European Commission under the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Policy Support Programme.

To this end, SmartCare will pilot the deployment of ICT supported care services in 10 pilot regions, in order to develop evidence for the added value of such services and promote their wider adoption. From 4 to 8 March 2013, the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia (I) hosted the kick-off meeting of the project.

As a partner of SmartCare, AER will collect inputs from the European regional community to ensure that the objectives of the project are in line with the expectations of European regions and disseminate the outcomes of the project to the regions that could be interested in realising ICT supported integrated care. Keep an eye on our calendar: AER will organise a seminar on integrated care in June 2013.

All you need to know about the project is on the Smartcare webpage.

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Rurality and regional development are perfectly compatible!

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Limoges, Limousin (F), 21 November 2012

Contrary to popular belief, rurality and regional development are by no means incompatible, but rather complementary. The Assembly of European Regions (AER) and the Limousin Region (F) joined forces and invited European regions to discuss rurality and regional development from a unique perspective, as well as to show that its is possible to unlock the economic and social potential of each and every region, including rural areas. 120 participants from 37 regions in wider Europe gathered on this occasion.

“Rural development is not just about agriculture, it also encompasses health, energy, broadband infrastructure and the development of small and medium enterprises. It is key that we find alternatives to traditional economies“. It is in these terms that the President of the AER ‘Economy and Regional development’ Committee, Håkan Sandgren (Jönköping-S), summarised the rationale for the conference.

Public services, in particular health care, cannot be considered simply as a burden, and can represent a source of growth for regions. To allow for this, we must see beyond technological innovation – and change our habits. Due to the constraints they face, rural areas are a laboratory for developing innovative tools and processes, such as e-health.

Rural accessibility can only be attained through the development of digital infrastructure. Access to broadband Internet has a direct influence on social inclusion: the digital divide may lead to a social one. However broadband in itself, while a major factor in attracting young people, is not enough; It should be used for specific applications such as e-health and distance learning.

In addition, the energy transition provides real diversification opportunities for the rural economy. Regions should promote energy efficiency among their citizens, especially young people and businesses. Pooling efforts through partnerships between regions will give them the necessary leverage to invest in real change, while continuing to act closely to their citizens.

Demographic and economic recovery are closely linked to new population and new entrepreneurs. The study of migration patterns is essential to define attractiveness policies for new populations. Implementation of programmes that improve the image of rural areas amongst young people, can encourage them to stay within or to return to rural areas.

“The comparative advantages of rural areas, as well as the different challenges they are facing, represent new opportunities that allow to consider rurality as an asset for regional development in Europe. This political vision should be built through strategic investments that foster development, and based on an integrated urban/rural approach in support of territorial cohesion.” concluded Jean-Paul Denanot, President of the Regional Council of Limousin and member of the Committee of the Regions.

The conference marks the beginning of a collaborative process that will culminate with the publication, in early 2013, of the “Denanot Report” on rurality and regional development.

The Assembly of European Regions (AER – aer.eu) is the largest independent network of regions in wider Europe. Bringing together more than 250 regions from 35 countries and 16 interregional organisations, AER is the political voice of its members and a forum for interregional co-operation.

For more information: [email protected]

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Future Cohesion Policy & Health

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AER is informing member regions about the opportunities for investing in health under the future EU Cohesion Policy. Health as such is not an explicit priority of the future Cohesion Policy, but there are numerous opportunities to invest in health, by investing in innovation, ICT, training health staff or improving access to services. The AER information campaign “Future Cohesion Policy & Health” educates regional politicians and officers on how to think outside the box, develop project ideas that are labelled innovation and in fact benefit health and, most importantly, start putting forward their ideas for projects. EU Cohesion Policy 2014+ is still being debated at EU level, but in the regions the work of setting priorities has already started so regions needs to act now.

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Taking stock of e-health deployment in the regions “Houston, we have a problem? Norrbotten, we’ve got a solution!”

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Luleå, Norrbotten (S), 20 June 2012

At the invitation of Norrbotten County Council and the Assembly of European Regions (AER), 200 stakeholders in e-health (regional decision-makers, health professionals, patients, companies) came together in Luleå-Norrbotten (S) for the 2012 Arctic Light E-health Conference (ALEC 2012). This was an occasion to evaluate the regions’ progress in implementing e-health since the last ALEC in 2010 and to identify future orientations for regional e-health policies.

The context for implementing e-health remains the same, in terms of the impact of demographic ageing on health and social systems. Compared to 2010, decision-makers have an increasing body of evidence at their disposal that demonstrates the cost-efficiency and overall added-value of innovative e-health policies and tools. E-health is no longer strictly technology-driven; innovation is now increasingly led by what the end users, and in particular the patients, actually need. It is partly as a result of this shift that acceptance of e-health among health professionals and patients has grown.

The impact of the current economic crisis is being felt of course. Limited resources are an additional incentive for regions to implement new and innovative models for care delivery. ALEC 2012 has shown that regions are creative: telemedicine, new organisational models, integrating health and social care are only a few examples of the new ideas that are out there. The challenge now lies in deploying these innovative ideas on a wide-scale and phasing out old solutions that no longer respond to today’s realities.



“Political leadership is the key to rolling out e-health. We need open-minded people in the regions who can take an innovative idea, incorporate it into a regional strategic framework and implement change,” said Agneta Granström, Chairperson of the AER [email protected] network and County Commissioner of Norrbotten. “The AER [email protected] network is prepared to implement a leadership programme for regional politicians and demands the EU’s support. If regional decision-makers do not fully grasp the potential offered by e-health, then the EU risks missing the targets and opportunities set out in Europe 2020, the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing and the future Cohesion Policy.”

The Assembly of European Regions (AER – aer.eu) is the largest independent network of regions in wider Europe. Bringing together more than 250 regions from 35 countries and 16 interregional organisations, AER is the political voice of its members and a forum for interregional co-operation.

For more information: [email protected]

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AER E-health Forum: European regions at the forefront of telemedecine

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Budapest (H), 10th May 2011

Following the invitation of the European Commission, the AER [email protected] network organised a forum to showcase regional expertise in the e-health field. This event took place in the framework of the e-health week in Budapest, a major conference that gathered politicians, health administrators, researchers and industries in order to discuss future priorities for e-health. The forum’s participants emphasised the major role played by regions in the deployment of personal e-health solutions by highlighting the progress achieved for chronic pathologies such as diabetes, cardio-vascular and obstructive pulmonary diseases.

European regions and telemedicine: substantial progresses

In order to respond to the challenges currently faced by our society, the European regions have to develop inventive and simple tools to satisfy the patients’ needs.
Auvergne’s (F) “Tele-Diabètes” project allows for example people suffering from diabetes, for example, to calculate their insulin dose by themselves, thanks to an electronic device, after recording personal data such as their glucose ratio before and after each meal.

Syddanmark (DK) presented its project “ePatch”, aiming to answer the needs of health professionals, as well as those of the patients – financial restrictions, patients’ will to stay longer at home, lack of health professionals. Easy to use, this patch will enable continuous control of the patient’s cardiac activity and will set up an alarm system based on several clinical research studies.

Work for the recognition of e-health

“Whereas the amount of people suffering from chronic diseases keeps increasing, our knowledge has allowed us to make important technologic advances. Our goal is to make sure that e-health is integrated in public health policies. In order to do so, we need to put forward the issue of change management” said Agneta Granström, President of AER’s [email protected] Network and regional councillor of Norrbotten (S), adding that “the future of e-health and its generalisation in Europe lays in the regions”.

A debate between regional politicians, patients’ organisations and industries sought to identify solutions allowing to spread the success of regional projects to the whole of Europe. Indeed, even if the use of telemedecines is becoming more widespread in the European continent, some obstacles still prevent its full deployment. The absence of a reimbursement scheme for e-health solutions, the lack of awareness regarding existing solutions or the dilemma of the development of an e-health market have thus been identified as the main problems.

For more information: [email protected]

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ALEC2010: First international conference on Regions’ [email protected]

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Luleå – Norrbotten (S), 5 February 2010.

The Assembly of European Regions’ (AER) [email protected] network has organised the first international [email protected] conference that targets directly the regions and their partners. Over 200 regional politicians, officers, university experts and entrepreneurs from across Europe have come to the Arctic Light E-health Conference (ALEC2010) in Norrbotten (S) to share their successes and mistakes and discuss how they can work together to make e-health a reality for all citizens.

“The ultimate goal of the AER [email protected] network is to improve our citizens’ health and quality of life. E-health allows us to harness the potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and to provide healthcare where our citizens want it and when they need it. Our citizens are at the centre of our work: we want to give them the knowledge and the tools they need to make informed decisions about their health,” said Agneta Granström, Chairperson of the AER [email protected] network and County Commissioner of Norrbotten County Council (S).

AER member regions are true incubators for innovation in healthcare. The Province of Noord-Brabant (NL) decided to act as a catalyst for the development of smart care in the region, even though this area is not listed among their primary competences. They have created a platform where regional, commercial and healthcare organisations, as well as user/patient associations, can work together to develop innovative responses to the challenges posed by demographic change and an ageing population.

Regions are cooperating to bring down borders in healthcare. The Canton of Basel-Stadt (CH) is working with neighbouring Germany on a pilot project that will allow citizens to receive medical treatment on the other side of the border. The obstacles they encountered ranged from creating acceptance among the health professionals to amending their respective legal systems, which previously did not allow patients to seek treatment abroad. Their experience has shown them that it is important to adopt an incremental approach to change, taking one step at a time, involving health professionals and end users from the very beginning and communicating success.

ALEC2010 aimed to shape the regions’ e-health agenda for the coming years. “The debates of the past two days have emphasised the importance of cooperation. We have the technology and we have the entrepreneurs. Our role as regions is to make sure that they create the e-health tools that our citizens and patients really need. If we all work together around the same table, we can make sure that e-health delivers not only quality healthcare, but also economic gains for our regions. The AER [email protected] network will develop an education programme for regional politicians, to increase knowledge about how e-health can be successfully implemented across regions. There is no future without e-health,” concluded Agneta Granström.

For more information: [email protected]

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European Regions do care for you! Access health services… anytime, anywhere

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Brussels (B), 14 February 2007

Twenty-five regions from all over Europe gathered today in Brussels to launch a major initiative, which is set to revolutionise the way our health care systems are managed.
The Assembly of European Regions (AER) has launched the ‘e-Health network’, which will bring medical services closer to the citizens, ending up their isolation, especially in remote rural areas. Here are only a few practical examples of what the network wants to achieve:

– citizens will be able to have all their medical examinations carried out at their local clinic, instead of travelling to far away specialized centres. Specialists working in another clinic will check the patients through a remote controlled device;

– as a consequence, medical diagnoses will only be a few clicks away: the doctor receives the examination results through the web and can immediately make the diagnosis;

– the work of emergency services, especially ambulance crews, will be immensely facilitated: ICT tools can provide them with all the necessary information on the patient they’re rushing to assist, by  giving access to his/her personal dossier and all the data about previous health problems. The ambulance can then send information to the hospital, so that the emergency unit there is prepared to treat the patient as soon as it arrives;

– EU tourists travelling to another country in the Union will be able to consult a local doctor through a European ‘e-Health card’. That’s more than a pocket document: it contains the patient’s entire dossier in a microchip. Any diagnosis or treatment will thus be carried out on the basis of a full medical picture.

Apart from that, e-Health can prove a useful tool for better distributing the scarce resources that are usually allocated to health services, by increasing productivity and improving the flow of information among all the actors in the health care chain.

European regions belonging to the AER will take the lead in applying new technologies to health care, by creating a platform where all the interested parties can engage in interregional cooperation projects and develop e-Health tools, thus contributing to the development of this innovative sector.

 

Six regions are already at the forefront:

Friuli Venezia Giulia and Lombardia (Italy) have today proposed the development of an ICT tool, which can provide them a real-time picture of the current offer and needs in their healthcare and social systems and allocate their resources accordingly;

St. Gallen (Switzerland) wants to create a tool, allowing secure electronic Data interchange among health professionals, hospitals and physicians;

Norrbotten (Sweden) is planning to create an electronic platform, which will put patients’ health data at the disposal of all the local health professionals. The same region is also looking to produce a telemedicine tool for medical professionals in the field of heart diseases: as a practical consequence, tests and examinations will be carried out from a distance;

Noord-Brabant (The Netherlands) proposed the development of ICT tools for the early diagnosis of dementia, in order to allow people suffering from it to live at home longer;

Västerbotten (Sweden), with the help of the local Umeå University, will analyse the potential advantages that e-Health technologies can offer to old people, with respect to their mental and physical health.

For more information: [email protected]

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Disabilities open up a whole new perspective on regional societies

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Timis (ROM), 29 September 2006

‘Disabilities are a wealth for the regions and should be viewed as an opportunity, rather than a difficulty’ affirmed Constantin Ostaficiuc, President of Timis County Council (RO), and future President of the Health and Social Affairs Committee of the Assembly of European Regions (AER). ‘Formulating policies for the integration of disabled persons gives the regions the opportunity to view their regional economies and societies from a totally new perspective and to appreciate their potential for flexibility and growth,’ he added.

The AER organised a seminar on the theme ‘Disabilities as a wealth for the regions’ in Timisoara on 28th September 2006, at the occasion of the meeting of the AER Health and Social Affairs Committee. Disabilities should be mainstreamed across all policies and at all levels, from transport to education and from employment to research and development: this was the key conclusion of the event, which brought together 30 European regions, representatives from the European Disability Forum and the Council of Europe, as well as from organisations working for the integration of disabled persons into society and employment. ‘The day when policies for the integration of disabled persons are successful is the day when we will no longer need such policies,’ stated Gunta Ancha, Board Member of the European Disability Forum (EDF).

Mr Constantin Ostaficiuc, President of Timis County Council and host of the event, was elected President of the AER’s ‘Health and Social Affairs’ Committee. Timis is the first Romanian region to hold the post of Committee President within the AER, thereby illustrating the rapid development and integration of Romania within Europe. ‘Accession to the EU in the beginning of 2007 is an important opportunity for Romanian Regions and we must work closely with our European partners in the AER, in order to benefit from the advantages of EU membership and to learn from their mistakes,’ stated Constantin Ostaficiuc.

The Regions also adopted their priorities for 2007, which include the creation of an interregional cooperation network for the development and exchange of e-health technologies, as well as a network for the development of regional emergency planning strategies and the interregional exchange of material, personnel and best practice.

For more information: [email protected]

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Regions get a Health check-up: E-health is the future

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Norrbotten (S), 9 June 2006

The Assembly of European Regions (AER), in cooperation with the County Council of Norrbotten (S), organised today an international conference entitled ‘E-health: around the clock care for everyone, everywhere’.

Bringing together over 100 politicians, officers and Information Technologies (IT) experts from Swedish, Dutch, Romanian, French, Polish, Swiss, Italian, Austrian, Slovak and Albanian regions, the conference provided an opportunity to understand the potential of e-health for improving the quality and financial sustainability of health care services.

‘E-health allows regions to overcome distance barriers when organising and delivering health services, and is therefore an important tool both for rural and urban areas. Developing such innovative technologies also contributes to a region’s overall economic development, by attracting companies specialised in this field and creating new employment opportunities,’ stated Agneta Granström, County Councillor of Norrbotten (S).

‘E-health is not the miracle solution to the problems health care systems are confronted with today, nor does it aim to replace the traditional doctor-patient contact. But e-health must be part of the Regions’ strategy for developing innovative and sustainable health care services,’ added Stig-Erik Westmark, President of the AER Committee on ‘Social Cohesion, Social Affairs and Public Health’ and County Councillor of Västmanland (S).

The AER will intensify its work in this area, which has a significant development potential for Europe and its regions. ‘We have to start by strengthening the cooperation between hospitals and between health care providers all over Europe. We don’t need a single system, the same for everyone; we need different interoperable systems. Both universities and industry should fully appreciate the enormous potential e-health offers and together with the regions they should commit themselves to the development of e-health tools,’ concluded Agneta Granström.

For more information: [email protected]

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How to improve health and social services in the Regions? The private sector can be a partner

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Vojvodina (SRB), 27 March 2006

“Our goal today is to find innovative solutions that create efficient health and social services at the regional level” stated Stig-Erik Westmark, President of the Committee for Social Cohesion, Social Services and Public Health of the Assembly of European Regions (AER) and County Councillor of Västmanland-S, at the AER meeting in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina-SCG.

In his welcoming speech, Bojan Kostres, President of the Assembly of AP Vojvodina, underlined “the importance for our Region of sharing experiences with AER members. We want to learn about some good practices related to improving the well-being of our citizens that we could implement in our Province”.

Private Public Partnerships were at the heart of the discussions. Over 100 participants from 35 regions from 15 States debated the important issue of whether PPP can be a relevant alternative for improving health and social life for European citizens. Of course, the private sector do not have to replace public services, but companies may support the process and thereby create a Win-Win situation. The AER ‘Health & Social’ Committee is now mandated to pursue and to deepen the work on this field.

The participants also evaluated the possibility of using voluntary work at regional level in health and social affairs. Voluntary work should not be developed without certain safeguards – for example a clear legal framework – but the AER will further check the good examples from its member Regions and analyse how and in which areas seniors citizens are still willing to be active and can contribute to citizens welfare. “The regional level is the best to be a laboratory for bringing together NGOs, seniors and the needs of the society on social services. We believe that voluntary work may help to solve some problems, but it cannot be the solution to the problems” concluded Stig-Erik Westmark.

The AER will pursue the development of innovative solutions for the organisation and provision of health services. The next step will be a conference on e-health to be held on 9th-10th June in Norrbotten-S, entitled ‘New tools for the delivery of services, for sharing patient information and for preventive measures’. A thematic Dossier on ‘e-health’, showing best practices in the European regions, will also be provided.

For more information: [email protected]

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Thematic dossier n°12 on E-Health – Spring 2006

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E-health

Table of contents:

  • Editorial by Stig-Erik Westmark President of the AER ‘Social Cohesion, Social Affairs and Public Health’ Committee
  • New technologies at the bedsides of patients and health professionals
  • E-health applications: the concrete advantages
  • Interview of Agneta Granström, County Councillor of the Region Norrbotten (S)
  • The European agenda

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