This conference provided a high-level strategic overview of past, current and likely future developments in content, connectivity and commerce. Presentations included explanations of what has happened in the US, what is happening in Europe, where the business opportunities in Europe lie and how eHealth in Europe may develop. Please find 2 Executive Summaries from papers presented at IBC Life Sciences, eHealth Europe Conference. Please click on one of the below options to view the Executive Summary written from that presentation. Being a consumer tends to be seen as something positive, involving choice, but being a health care consumer involves very little choice.
Nobody chooses to be ill and few can afford to choose their treatment.
However, the current trend towards consumer power has spread into the world of health care and patients are expecting to be given the same rights as they have in other areas of their lives. As with many other chronic conditions, people with epilepsy have worked together through a representative organisation to become their own experts, and often know more than their doctors. It has had a profound effect on our organisation and on the services we offer. Things that would have been impossible for us using traditional methods and limited resources have suddenly opened up for us. With chat rooms, discussion forums, online health profiles and no national boundaries, we are seeing real change take place.