This year, as in previous years, COCIR* has actively taken part in the EU’s eHealth Week which was held under the Irish EU Presidency in Dublin from 13-15 May. Nicole Denjoy, COCIR Secretary General, moderated the IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise) Symposium and presented in the mHealth Symposium as well as in the EU-US eHealth/Health IT Cooperation Assembly on eSkills.
eHealth has the potential to improve the quality of care and connect hospitals to the wider health community for more efficient healthcare systems and is recognised as crucial to create jobs and growth in Europe. However, collective efforts are still highly needed in order to realise the full deployment of eHealth at local, regional and national levels and to bring its enormous benefits to European citizens and to the healthcare workforce.
This week, COCIR launched 
the 3rd edition of its eHealth Toolkit focusing on the importance of Digital Hospitals through smart adoption of electronic health records (EHRs), the potential of mHealth and the key role of interoperability in contributing to the sustainability of healthcare systems in Europe, particularly during the current economic crisis. It also provides an overview of legal and regulatory trends, including the status on Data Protection Regulation.
Nicole Denjoy said, “We are pleased to note that the four pillars of the European Commission’s eHealth Action Plan 2012-2020 are fully aligned with COCIR’s own vision and efforts developed to accelerate the deployment of eHealth. We consider that in Europe this is the right time to build awareness and maximise the use of 2014-2020 cohesion policy funds to develop effective educational programmes. There is a crucial need to get cross-over skills between clinical and IT specialists and specialisation in Health IT should be promoted.”
In the context of the ongoing discussions between the EU and the US in Dublin this week, COCIR will continue to see how industry can contribute and will communicate its view on the roadmap in the near future. Nicole Denjoy added, “This remains of high importance for COCIR as our membership is composed of global industry players and SMEs interested in expanding their business beyond Europe.”
*COCIR represents the European Medical Imaging, Electromedical and Healthcare ICT Industry.
For more information contact:
Nicole Denjoy
COCIR Secretary General
Tel: +32 (0)2 706 8961
denjoy@cocir.org
For press questions please contact:
Kathryn Sheridan
COCIR Communications Advisor
00 32 (0) 496 116198press@cocir.org