Brussels, 27/05/2003 (Agence Europe) - Following a high-level conference on on-line health (eHealth) which took place in Brussels on 22 and 23 May (see EUROPE of 23 May, p.18), Greek Health Minister Costas Stefanis made a statement on behalf on the EU Presidency, which had been approved by the Ministers taking part in the event. Having seen for themselves the best on-line health practises already implemented in Europe and the benefits these have brought in terms of cost savings, improved quality and access to care, Ministers expressed their renewed commitment to develop national and regional eHealth plans, and to explore all possibilities for co-ordinating these at European level. This statement was given following a Ministerial meeting which took places within the conference, in the presence of Erkki Liikanen, Commissioner for Enterprise and the Information Society, and David Byrne, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection.
Parting from the principle that distributing quality medical information by the Internet is at the heart of any approach consistent with greater emphasis on the individual in health-care provision, Ministers favourably welcomed the Commission communication on the quality criteria applicable to web-sites devoted to health, and urged the Commission to look into possibilities of bringing in a quality label at European level.
The first eHealth conference 2003 was an initiative of the European Commission, in close collaboration with the Greek Presidency. The Ministers attending welcomed the initiative of the Irish government to hold a second eHealth conference in 2004, in order to see how the situation has evolved.