Date(s): From 06/05/2008 to 08/05/2008

Portorož
Slovenia

The conference will focus mostly on the topics which contribute to connecting eHealth tools and users. The exhibition will show eHealth solutions of EU Member States, Slovenian and other EU countries eHealth industry.

The programme of eHealth Without Frontiers will focus mostly on topics which contribute to connecting eHealth tools and users:

• between places, cities, regions and countries and between all players in healthcare (citizens, patients, healthcare professionals, healthcare providers, health insurance providers, public health actors, educational and research institutions, and public authorities) .

The conference aims:

• to demonstrate opportunities, achievements and challenges of the implementation of electronic healthcare, and to define as clearly as possible future directions for the further development of eHealth in Europe.
  
  On May the 5th satellite conferences and events such as national eHealth conference and events will be organised by European associations and projects.

Further information on the agenda, exhibition and registration to the conference will soon be available on the conference dedicated website.

For further information:
ICT for Health
European Commission - Information society and Media DG
Office: BU31 06/73 B-1049 Brussels
Email: eHealth@ec.europa.eu
Tel: +32 2 296 41 94
Fax: +32 2 296 01 81
http://europa.eu/information_society/eHealth

http://swiss-ict-healthnet.com/singleview-inst.76.0.html?&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=122&tx_ttnews[backPid]=6&cHash=1d1423d96c

Identifying and promoting standards that support innovation in Europe: the first challenge of the Standards network

Demonstrating the competitive advantages of applying standards able to enhance innovation in Europe is the cornerstone of the Europe INNOVA Standards Network.
Six Standards networks 'DEPUIS', 'INNOVAFUN', 'BIOHEALTH', 'EUROMIND', 'STAND-INN' and 'STEPPIN' are now combining their expertise within Europe INNOVA initiative to demonstrate how standards can efficiently contribute to spreading innovative products and services.

Standards play a crucial role in the definition of market conditions in many industry sectors, not only high-technology ones. They influence technological advances and determine innovation performance. They influence the innovation process through "path dependency"; in other words, when (technical) specifications are defined, the options for future technological developments are by definition narrowed, since alternatives are ruled out through a combination of technical and market choices.

The merit of applying standards lies in the possibility of reducing the transaction costs involved in the development and application of (new) technologies and of generating positive network externalities through economies of scale. Standards can play a major role in promoting innovative products and services by providing legal security for innovative companies, creating large scale markets and building confidence among consumers. Hence, standards can be considered to be an important driver of innovation in Europe.

Objectives

Within this framework, the European Commission has established 6 pan-European Networks 'DEPUIS', 'INNOVAFUN', 'BIOHEALTH', 'EUROMIND', 'STAND-INN' and 'STEPPIN' to bring together consumer associations, market experts, companies and policy makers to achieve more successful exploitation of existing standards in Europe. It is important to note that these networks are not meant to be the basis for development of new standards, but will serve to facilitate the exchange and compilation of good practice to enable the integration of open standards into the design of new products, services and business practices, and stimulate innovation through reference to standards in public procurement.

Successful national initiatives on standards and good practices on how to use these standards to develop innovative business solutions will be exchanged and disseminated on a European level.

Activities

The Innovation Standards Networks will explore existing standards and identify market failures and potential public interventions for the improvement of innovation performance in the design of new products and services.

The use of standards in European Union public procurement processes and by large multinational companies will be assessed with a view to enabling bidding companies to be more innovative in their product and service designs and offerings.
In addition, policy recommendations will be formulated to promote the integration of open and proprietary standards into the development of new business solutions.

The achievements of the Innovation Standards Networks will support the overall Europe INNOVA initiative in its effort to address the challenges of fostering innovation in industry and services.