News
July 2010
New publication by the European Commission on securing benefits from interoperable Electronic Health Record and ePrescribing systems
After presenting a sneak-preview at the joint Ministerial eHealth conference and World of Health IT conference and exhibition in March 2010, the European Commission (EC) has now published the full version of its latest publication, “Interoperable eHealth is Worth it - Securing Benefits from Electronic Health Records and ePrescribing”. The paper provides insights into the real socio-economic and financial impact of eHealth, uncovered by the recent EC study EHR IMPACT. The empirical evidence is based on eleven case studies from across Europe and beyond – Scotland, Kronoberg in Sweden, Kolín-Čáslav in the Czech Republic, Geneva Switzerland, Lombary in Italy, Rhône-Alpes in France, Bulgaria, Andalusia in Spain, Israel, and Evanston in the USA. The bottom line is that health information systems can play an important role in securing economic sustainability and improving the quality of healthcare provision. However, realising the potential is by no means easy – a context-dependent strategic perspective, long planning cycles, and technical and semantic interoperability are among the factors that need to be in place for success.
The report can be downloaded from the EHR IMPACT website or from the EC information centre. For a printed copy, please contact ehealth at ec dot europa dot eu. For content issues, email ehr dash impact at empirica dot com.
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March 2010
Interoperable eHealth is Worth it - Securing Benefits from Electronic Health Records and ePrescribing
Health information systems can help make our healthcare systems economically sustainable. The recent EHR IMPACT study shows the importance of interoperability in this quest, as well as what needs to be in place in order to realise the potential. Following the positive resonance to the EHR IMPACT final report, the European Commission (EC) is now publishing the results in a stand-alone publication. “Interoperable eHealth is Worth it - Securing Benefits from Electronic Health Records and ePrescribing” provides insights into the real socio-economic and financial impact of eHealth. The empirical evidence is based on eleven case studies from across Europe and beyond – Scotland, Kronoberg in Sweden, Kolín-Čáslav in the Czech Republic, Geneva Switzerland, Lombary in Italy, Rhône-Alpes in France, Bulgaria, Andalusia in Spain, Israel, and Evanston in the USA. A sneak-preview of the new publication will be available at the EC booth n°801 at the joint Ministerial eHealth conference and World of Health IT conference and exhibition.
Contact: Alexander dot Dobrev at empirica dot com
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November 2009
The EHR IMPACT final study report is now published
The results of the EHR IMPACT study give grounds for optimism in the success, value and deployment of interoperable electronic health record (EHR) and ePrescribing systems across Europe. The study's strategic recommendations are meant to encourage and support future initiatives. Find out more about the potential of eHealth and the paths to success from the final study report, available on the project's website http://www.ehr-impact.eu/.
October 2009
Swedish case study report triggers press release
The publication of the EHR IMPACT report on the health information network of Kronoberg County, Sweden, was warmly welcomed as a valuable contribution to the pool of evidence and lessons in the field of interoperable EHR and ePrescribing systems. With a special press release, the County Council of Kronoberg is drawing attention to the report across the whole of Sweden – a country well advanced and interested in such solutions.
July 2009
EHR IMPACT preliminary results introduced to i2010 Sub Group on eHealth
Preliminary results of the EHR IMPACT study were presented to the i2010 Sub Group on eHealth in Brussels. Aggregated results of the quantitative evaluations of completed case studies, as well as qualitative conclusions valuable for future deployment of interoperable EHR and ePrescribing systems were complemented by presentations of two case studies by representatives of the site teams. The European Commission and Member State representatives showed a marked interest in the subject and specific aspects of the results. This was evident from a lively and constructive discussion following the presentation, the slides to which can be found on the EHR IMPACT website: Study Presentations
July 2009
The EHR IMPACT study has completed case study number six, "The socio-economic impact of Receta XXI, the regional ePrescribing system of Andalucía’s public health service". The report is now online available and focuses on the socio-economic impact of Andalucía's ePrescribing system Receta XXI. In the previous report analysed as integrative part of Andalucía's comprehensive health information system Diraya, this case study exclusively focuses on the regional ePrescribing system and its socio-economic impact.
July 2009
The EHR IMPACT study team is pleased to announce that the fifth case study is completed and that its report is now available for download on the EHR IMPACT website. The report presents findings on the socio-economic impact of the regional EHR and ePrescribing system of the Andalucía's public health service. The analysis of the remaining EHR and ePrescribing systems is well underway, the reports of the case studies will follow soon.
May 2009
Another two case study reports are now available for download on the EHR IMPACT website. The analyses of the Computerised Patient Record Systems at the University Hospitals of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland, and the Kolín-Čáslav health data and exchange network, Czech Republic, have been completed. The project team is glad to report good progress on the remaining case studies.
April 2009
The results of the analysis of the socio-economic impact of the Hospital Information System at the National Heart Hospital Sofia, Bulgaria, were presented at a press-conference in Sofia on 06.04.2009. The event was organised by the National Heart Hospital Sofia and was attended by representatives of the management team, the governing body, and the Ministry of Health of Bulgaria. Alexander Dobrev presented the study findings for the EHR IMPACT team. For the occasion, the case study report has been translated into Bulgarian and is now available in two languages.
See:
The socio-economic impact of the Hospital Information System in National Heart Hospital-Sofia, Bulgaria
or
Социално-икономическото въздействие на болничната информационна система в Национална кардиологична болница – София, България
February 2009
First case study reports available for download on the EHR IMPACT website! The detailed case studies present evidence on the socio-economic impact of the Emergency Care Summary in Scotland, and the hospital-wide EPR system in the National Heart Hospital in Sofia, Bulgaria. A second round of cases will be published soon.
January 2009
EHR IMPACT case studies presented at high-level conferences
Two EHR IMPACT case studies were presented at this year’s TeleMed & eHealth 2008 Conference of the British Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) in London. The example of the implementations at the University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland, illustrated how integration of computerised patient records can optimise patient care at hospitals. Evidence from the Scottish Emergency Care Summary Programme demonstrated how nationwide sharing of medical information can improve out of hour and emergency care. The presentations are available in the download section.
See the study presentations.
After official approval by the European Commission, the reports on the conceptual framework of interoperable electronic health record (EHR) and ePrescribing systems and the methodology for evaluating the socio-economic impact of such systems are now available for download.
See the reports.
The socio-economic impact analysis of the Scottish Emergency Care Summary Programme, as one of EHR IMPACT’s ten case studies, was presented at the World of Health IT 2008 conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. Despite an early start following various conference social events, more than 50 delegates showed their interest in the subject. The presentation is available at the download section of this site.
See the study presentations
October 2008
Informative insights into the progress of the evaluation process of the EHR IMPACT study were provided at the first Swiss eHealth Summit. At this conference in Bern, 26 to 27 August, 2008 the study team reported on the preliminary findings on the Computerised Patient Record Systems at the University Hospitals of Geneva. By one of the study’s lead sites the presentation illustrated in detail how economic returns can be realised from eHealth. In its home environment the Swiss case study’s first results served as a perfect example for how investments can be made a success with regard to EHR systems.
September 2008
Empirica researchers present at this year's TeleMed & eHealth Conference in London
This year's TeleMed & eHealth 2008 Conferenceof the British Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) will take place on the 24th and the 25th of November in London. At this prominent scientific European meeting, empirica will be present with several contributions:
On the first day, empirica is organising a workshop on "Developing successful business cases for TeleHealth" - a repeat of a very successful, sold-out event on May 30 of this year, also in cooperation with the RSM.
Furthermore, empirica researchers will contribute 3 scientific papers:
Ingo Meyer will report on selected results form empirica's study on the "Use of ICT by primary care physicians in the EU and EEA countries" Final report | 29 country profiles "Optimising primary care: The role of eHealth among general practitioners in Europe".
Alexander Dobrev will present findings from the EHR Impact Study about "Integrating eHealth into hospital workflows – evidence on the effectiveness of the integrated patient record system at the University Hospitals of Geneva" , and Tom Jones (empirica/TanJent) about "Optimising emergency and out-of hours services - the impact of the nationally shared emergency care summary in Scotland".
July 2008
With two case studies in completion phase and four in progress,the evaluation phase of the EHR IMPACT study is now well underway. One of the lead sites, the Emergency Care Summary (ECS) Programme in Scotland, will be presented at the World of Health IT Conference & Exhibition in Copenhagen, Denmark, 4 to 6 November, 2008.
The presentation will offer findings on the socio-economic impact of the ECS in particular and EHR systems in general. The case analysis will provide comprehensive information on relevant stakeholders, their respective costs and benefits, and some insights on the financial impact based on these findings.
May 2008:
The case study of the computerised clinical information system at the University Hospitals in Geneva (HUG), Switzerland, was presented at the European Union Ministerial Conference on eHealth 2008 in Portorož, Slovenia. Findings from the Financing eHealth and EHR IMPACT studies were illustrated on the basis of HUGs experience. The discussion focused on insights of strategic eHealth investment decisions, as well as the costs and benefits associated with complex, interoperable electronic health record (EHR) systems. The presentation material is available on the studies’ websites:
www.financing-ehealth.eu and www.ehr-impact.eu.
April 2008:
First findings of the EHR IMPACT study will be presented next month at the European Union Ministerial Conference on eHealth 2008 in Portorož, Slovenia. The case study of the computerised patient record system at the University Hospitals in Geneva, Switzerland will be used as an example to illustrate the benefits, as well as lessons learnt for future investments in interoperable EHR and ePrescribing systems. The session will be shared with the Financing eHealth study, which focuses on the investment aspects of eHealth.
March 2008:
The EHR IMPACT study team is currently finalising the conceptual framework of the study and developing and adapting the eHealth IMPACT methodology. The goal is the evaluation of the socio-economic impact of eHealth in the specific setting of interoperable electronic health record and ePrescribing systems. The first two evaluations have started. These are the computerised patient record system at the University Hospitals in Geneva, Switzerland, and the Scottish Emergency Care Summary Programme in the UK.