Foreword INTRODUCTION

Introduction

One of the most important services governments have to deliver is health care to citizens, and computerised applications in the field of health, especially e-Health, can significantly improve health service delivery. For example, electronic access to core patient data can improve both ongoing and emergency treatment and electronic prescriptions transferred directly, from the doctor to the chemist, can save time and costs. The ideal situation is to provide the right information, at the right time, at the right place, to the right people. Governments therefore need to harness information and communications technology (ICT) to deliver high-quality health care for all. The European e-Health Action Plan of April 2004 provided a roadmap for the development of interoperable e-Health services in and across Member states.

This deliverable is concerned with developing interoperable identity management systems, within the e-Health sector, throughout and between EU states. To achieve comprehensive, practical, and cost effective systems that work together throughout the EU there are many challenges which need to be addressed including the:  

1. need for a common policy on interoperability throughout the EU 

2. development and maintenance of an integrated e-Health network that brings together patients, professionals, providers, regions, and nations 

3. need to incorporate identity management, including FIDIS research, into existing and proposed information systems 

4. increased movement of EU citizens around the Union for purposes of travel, study, work and retirement 

5. establishing of standard data sets for all aspects of health records   

6. full cooperation between Member states, the many stakeholders  involved, and personnel performing a wide range of disciplines

The EC report “Connected Health – Quality and Safety for European Citizens” outlines priority issues which must be pursued vigorously in order to meet all the challenges described above – improve patient safety, encourage well-informed citizens on health matters, and create high-quality health systems and services. It focuses on the overriding theme of comprehensive e-Health interoperability.

The proposals outlined in a second EC report, “European Interoperability Framework for Pan-European e-Government Services” also need to be taken into account, particularly those relating to technology, when considering e-Health services within and across Member states.

To progress towards interconnected and collaborative e-Health services at the local, regional, national and pan-European levels, a structured approach is recommended. 

When developing this report the work undertaken in two FIDIS deliverables has been represented, within the proposed models and application of the management principles: 

1. D4.11 which explores the development of e-Health in the EU and reviews the processes for introducing e-Health applications in the different European States.

2. D16.1 whose main goal is to find an agreement within the different disciplines, represented in FIDIS, on the basic terminology needed to allow dialogue on the very specific research field of privacy-friendly identity management in e-Government.

1. This report extends the work of previous deliverables of WP4, which may be referred to on the FIDIS website:

   This report extends the work of previous deliverables of WP4, which may be referred to on the FIDIS website:

1. D4.6:“Draft best practice guidelines”

2. D4.7:Review and classification for a FIDIS identity model”

3. D4.8:Creating the method to incorporate FIDIS research for generic application”

It is envisaged that the proposed FIDIS interoperability management method and framework (described in deliverables D4.6, D4.7 and D4.8) will be suitable for performing all of the applications discussed in the EC reports. Interoperability means systems and services that are connected and can work together easily and effectively, while maintaining patient and professional confidentiality, privacy and security.