Brussels, 28/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 25 April, the European Commission published a pan-European survey on electronic services in healthcare (eHealth) that shows 87% of European general practitioners use a computer, 48% with a broadband connection. Doctors in Europe increasingly store and send patient information, such as lab reports, electronically. Through such eHealth applications, doctors and medical services have already improved healthcare in Europe through, for example, more efficient administration and shorter waiting times for patients.
According to this comparative study on the use of information technology by general practitioners in Europe, eHealth applications have a growing role in the doctor's practices. However, there remain significant differences in their availability and use across Europe. While, for example, about 70% of European doctors use the internet and 66% use computers for consultations, there are wide differences from one country to another. Thus, Denmark has the highest broadband penetration among general practitioners (91%), and Romania the lowest (about 5%). Administrative patient data is electronically stored in 80% of general practices; of these 92% also electronically store medical data on diagnoses and medication, and 35% electronically store radiological images. European doctors often transfer data electronically with laboratories (40%), but less to other health centres (10%).
The survey shows that the countries most advanced in ICT access and connectivity are more likely to use them for professional purposes. For example, in Denmark, where high-speed internet is most widely available in Europe, there is extensive use of email communication between doctors and patients in about 60% of practices, when the EU average is only 4%. The survey also highlights areas for improvement and further deployment, such as electronic prescriptions (e-Prescribing), which is practised by only 6% of EU general practitioners. It is widely used in only three member states: Denmark (97%), the Netherlands (71%) and Sweden (81%). Telemonitoring , which, in some instances, allows doctors to monitor a patient's illness or manage chronic diseases remotely, is only used in Sweden (where 9% of doctors provide telemonitoring services), the Netherlands and Iceland (both about 3%). The press release points out that the Commission plans to report later this year on the potential and development of telemedicine.
Exchange of patient data across borders is also rare, involving only 1% of the EU's general practitioners. The highest usage rate is in the Netherlands (5%). This year the Commission plans to make recommendations on cross-border interoperability of electronic health record systems and will launch, with several countries, a project on cross-border eHealth services for patients travelling within the European Union.
The survey was carried out among 7,000 general practitioners in the 3rd quarter of 2007. The findings will be presented at the European eHealth Conference, which will be held in Slovenia on 6-7 May.
The final report is available at:
http: //ec.europa.eu/information_society/eeurope/i2010/benchmarking/index_en.htm (OJ)