Healthcare Industry Demands One Healthcare IT Market in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> “Deployment of eHealth (healthcare IT) in the EU is going dangerously slowly despite €500 million investment in EU-sponsored research over the last 10 years. National Member States do not cooperate and the European Commission cannot organise enough executive power. As a consequence Europe will have ever more difficulty to cope with the spectacular increase in demand for healthcare of its aging population,” said Frank Anton, Chairman of COCIR – a European platform of the healthcare industry during a press conference in <st1:city w:st="on">Brussels</st1:city> on March 28 at the occasion of the opening of its new <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Brussels</st1:city></st1:place> headquarters. The healthcare industry is very concerned and is calling for: - Creation of one healthcare IT Market in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> to realise the economy of scale that can result in affordable solutions - Enforcement of the European Commission’s role by appointing one Directorate General with one person mandated to enable the development of this market - Involve real stakeholders, especially healthcare providers and clinicians - Strive for international standards and not Europe-only standards - Use Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) methodology to achieve effective and fast results. COCIR is asking the European Commission to efficiently drive the development of this market together with industry and users. COCIR represents the radiology, electromedical and healthcare IT industry in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>. Contacts: Kathryn Sheridan Nicole Denjoy Communications Advisor Secretary General Tel: +32 (0)496 116198 Tel: +32 (0)2 706 8961 press@cocir.org denjoy@cocir.org |