Barcoding, eHealth and mHealth – April 2018

Barcoding

SK contacted Spain to obtain more information on their barcoding initiatives. Spain indicated that current advances regarding individualized barcoding are conducted in those pharmacy units with the ability to generate this individualized coding, but they are not included in a global or national strategy. The FMD has no impact on single unit dose barcoding. In SEFH’s opinion the FMD represents a great and missed opportunity in terms of achieving further safety and traceability in the use of medications.

eHealth/mHealth

Consultation – digital innovation in health and care
A summary of the consultation results has been published (see HERE). The release of the policy communication on digital innovation in health and care is now foreseen for the first quarter of 2018.

Digital Day 2018
On 10 April 2018, Ministers and representatives of Member States recalled their commitment to complete the Digital Single Market, and agreed to work together more in a series of key areas for Europe’s future: artificial intelligence, blockchain, ehealth and innovation. The highlights of the Digital Day 2018 included declarations on the following topics:

• Joining forces on artificial intelligence (AI): AI can bring major benefits to our society and economy, such as better healthcare, safer transport and a more competitive industry. To fully benefit from the opportunities offered by AI, European countries need to work together, including for using the highest standards of data protection. 25 European countries signed the declaration on AI (more see HERE). The Commission will adopt a Communication on AI in the coming weeks.
• Building a European partnership in blockchain technologies: The European Commission recently launched the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum in February 2018 and will invest some €300 million in projects supporting the use of blockchain. At the same time Member States have been very active in supporting blockchain ecosystems, launching experiments and announcing actions at the government level. In order to harness the many opportunities of blockchain and avoid a fragmented approach, tomorrow the Commission will lay the groundwork for establishing a European Blockchain Partnership to promote interoperable infrastructures that will enhance trusted digital services. More about the declaration on blockchain technologies see HERE
• Sharing data to personalise healthcare: Citizens’ needs are at the centre of data-driven healthcare innovation and should have an active role in their personalised treatment. The eHealth declaration aims at linking access to existing and future genomic databases across the European Union which will help to advance research in rare diseases, cancer, pharmacogenomics, disease prevention, brain related diseases and other conditions. Enhanced cooperation between Member States will help to overcome lack of interoperability and fragmentation of initiatives across the EU, while guaranteeing highest European standards for personal data protection. More about the declaration on eHealth HERE
• Encouraging innovation with the help of a new online tool: The Innovation Radar can help match innovators with those who can help get their innovations to market. During Digital Day 2018, the Commission encourages the cooperation for supporting breakthrough innovations in Europe. The initiative also aims to develop the online tool further and enrich it with top national innovation projects. More about the declaration on Innovation Radar HERE
• 5G cross-border testing corridors to support connected and automated mobility: A first set of large-scale testing corridors was announced in September 2017. Tomorrow, Spain and Portugal will sign a Memorandum of Understanding to kick-start their cooperation. More HERE

ECH Alliance – Digital Health Society
The Digital Health Society (DHS) is a multi-stakeholder initiative, launched in July 2017 under the Estonian EU Presidency. The initiative is comprised out of 4 working groups. The working groups started their activity in the first quarter of 2018. The first part of the work should be concluded in May 2018. To further move the activity of the society forward, a non-for-profit entity will be registered in an EU Member State. In case we are interested in joining we can get in contact with the Strategic Advisor of the ECH Alliance (Julien Venne).

eHealth week 2018
There will be no eHealth week in 2018 since Estonia organised an eHealth related event last year in November.