e-Health survey shows telemedicine services not yet fully deployed in EU

More than 90 per cent of European hospitals are connected to broadband, 80 per cent have electronic patient record systems, but only four per cent of hospitals grant patients online access to their electronic records, according to the results of a survey conducted for the European Commission. Indeed, services for patients, such as e-prescription, telemonitoring or access to patient records are not widely available in all EU hospitals.

European hospitals are more advanced than US hospitals in terms of external medical exchange, but they lag behind in using e-health to view laboratory reports or radiology images.

The survey provides useful data for the work of the EU e-Health Task Force on assessing the role of information and communications technologies (ICT) in health and social care, which is due to suggest ways for ICT to speed up innovation in healthcare to the benefit of patients, carers and the healthcare sector. The EU e-Health Task Force met for the first time in Budapest on May 10 on the margins of e-health week.

e-Health applications have a growing role in Europe’s hospitals, according to the survey but there are still wide variations in take-up, with Nordic countries taking the lead. Large, public and university hospitals are generally more advanced in e-health terms than smaller, private ones. The survey data was collected from 906 general public, private or university hospitals. The survey was carried out in 2010 in all 27 EU member states, plus Croatia, Iceland, and Norway.

Malta’s acute hospitals e-health profile in its hospitals is higher than the EU average for high-speed broadband and PACS (imaging systems) usage. According to the survey, all hospitals in Malta surveyed are connected with broadband which is equally distributed over the different broadband speeds. For single and unified wireless infrastructure and integrated system for e-referral, Maltese hospitals are close to the EU average.

However not all patient records at Mater Dei hospital are kept electronically. The largest volume of patient information is still stored within 450,000 volumes of patient files, all managed by the Medical Records Department.

“These files occupy 5.5km of shelf space, i.e. the same as the distance from Valletta to the airport. Over 1,000 of these files are loaned out every working day to clinics and wards, and an equivalent number returned,” according to the survey report.

Other e-health indicators for Malta are also below EU average and the survey notes that there appears not to be any telemonitoring in Maltese hospitals.

The European Commission said the deployment of e-health technologies in Europe, with a view to improving the quality of health care, reducing medical costs and fostering independent living for those needing care, is a key objective of the Digital Agenda for Europe, which, for example, sets a 2015 deadline for giving patients online access to their medical data.