At the end of the Ministerial eHealth Conference 2009 held in Prague, Czech Republic, on 18-20 February 2009, the representatives of the Member States of the European Union and those of the European Commission adopted an eHealth Declaration.

The main objective of the Declaration is to sum up the current state of the Europe-wide effort to use ICT in healthcare for the benefit of patients and for the economic efficiency of the health sector. Moreover, the document aims to determine further steps to be adopted at national and European levels.

At the same time, the Declaration calls for the building of a common European eHealth area, where interoperable communication between national systems will be possible:

“The Member States and the European Commission endeavour to facilitate the building of a European eHealth area which will enable access to healthcare for all citizens. For this purpose continued efforts are needed, particularly in the areas of telemedicine services deployment, interoperability as well as Europe-wide cooperation and exchange of best practices. Member States are encouraged to adapt their national eHealth strategies so that the individuals (patients and healthcare professionals), society and economy are all the beneficiaries of eHealth’s positive effects. The Member States are also urged to participate in discussions about a Europe-wide governance structure for eHealth that will give additional impetus to the introduction of new services and removing existing obstacles.“

As the conference was not intended for EU Member States only, the event’s host, the Czech Presidency of the European Union, has offered to all participating countries the possibility to adopt this Declaration.

Further information:

• Press release – European Commission – Europe’s Information Society Thematic portal 
• Website of the eHealth 2009 Conference 
• ePractice Library – Prague eHealth 2009 Conference Declaration