eHealth in Europe: what's the diagnosis?

According to recent research findings on eHealth uptake, conducted by the European Commission in some thirty European countries, Croatia is, for the period from 2007 to 2013,  almost on a par with the European average. However, the speed and progress in using eHealth services puts us, together with Turkey, among top performing countries, while ePrescription being used by 99 % of General Practitioners (GPs) ranks us second in Europe.

Europe is facing a serious healthcare crisis as a result of its ageing population. However, use of digital technology can significantly reduce costs, put patients back in control, make healthcare more efficient and help European citizens to take an active part in society.

According to two surveys on eHealth uptake in Europe, of which one has been conducted in acute care hospitals (chronic care hospitals excluded) and the other among GPs, eHealth uptake in Europe is in full swing. Last year, about 60 % of GPs used at least some eHealth tools, which is a 50 % increase compared to 2007. 

However,  much more has to be done, especially when it comes to digitising patient health records. Only 9 % of hospitals in Europe allow patients to access online their own medical records. In general, top performing countries for eHealth uptake in hospitals are Denmark, Estonia, Finland and Sweden, and when it comes to digitisation, the top three performers are the Netherlands, Denmark and the UK.
The European GPs make only limited use of ePrescription and doctor-patient e-mail interaction (32 % and 35 % respectively). It is interesting that, when it comes to ePrescription use, the top three countries are Estonia (100 %), Croatia (99 %) and Sweden (97 %), while the use of e-mail is led by Denmark (100 %), Estonia (70 %) and Italy (62 %). As regards eHealth development in general, Croatia is close to the European average. In addition to ePrescription, our above average ranking is due also to use of eReferral, exchange of information with external healthcare providers and lab report sharing among institutions. However, we are scored below average in interconnecting healthcare institutions through broadband network  (above 50 Mbps) and in unique wireless network access (22 % below average). It is expected that, in respect of eHealth, the announced implementation of eHealth Record will furher improve the image of Croatia. It will be delivered by Ericsson Nikola Tesla's experts, who delivered the Central Healthcare Information System, ePrescription and eReferral as well. 

In short, eHealth services in Europe are mostly used for traditional recording and reporting, but not for clinical purposes, while remote monitoring is a huge unused potential being offered to the patients by only 9 % of the European hospitals. Ericsson Nikola Tesla, as an integral part of the Ericsson Group, offers, in addition to the Hospital Information System, also Ericsson Mobile Health (EMH) system for remote patient monitoring. Thus, through simple tests (ECG, spirometry, blood pressure, pulse, blood oxygen saturation and blood sugar level), anywhere and anytime, prerequisites are created for increased independence and improved quality of life as well as reduced need for hospital stays. 
 
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