A Manifesto for Europe
Polling for the European elections is just nine days away. The electoral cycle tests the health of European democracy: will participation levels be up or down; is the public mood swinging to the left or to the right? The perennial worry is that voter turnouts continue to fall, but political parties and agencies like the Electoral Commission continue to come up new and innovative ways to engage people.
At the moment, various party political manifestos are being launched – but they’re not the only manifestos in town. There is another vision for engagement with Europe which we should consider.
Connected Health is the innovation that is transforming healthcare delivery across the US and Europe. At its most basic, Connected Health is ‘the use of networked technologies to reduce costs and enhance quality’ (all of this is shaped/informed by regional patient needs etc). It is a model which aims to deliver more for less – to be more efficient while at the same time empowering patients and maximising safety and wellbeing.
Connected Health answers the challenge of what to do about spiralling costs for healthcare delivered through the established, traditional system. Some predict that, trends being what they are in the realm of public health, spending on healthcare across the EU overall could triple by the year 2060. How do we avoid such a punishing burden on the taxpayer?
And that is not all. Governments across Europe are now faced with the prospect of economic growth falling into negative territory. Instead of investing in services and in struggling industries, governments are being forced to balance budgets by raising taxes, cutting costs and rationalising services.
So there’s a lot riding on the success of Connected Health – if it succeeds it improves healthcare systems, empowers patients and relieves some of the strain on the public exchequer. If it succeeds it will be the transformational model that has far-reaching implications for the UK and our European neighbours.
But what has this got to do with Northern Ireland?
Well, the First European Connected Health Leadership Summit – hosted by the European Connected Health Campus (ECHCampus), a new tenant at the Science Park – was held in Belfast earlier this month. Over 120 leaders in Connected Health – experts in commercial, clinical, academic and governmental spheres – flew in for the two-day conference from across Europe and the US. It was ‘designed to look at the emergent market, ask the big questions, and bring together the business brainpower to provide direction’.
The result of all these collective efforts was the ‘A Manifesto for Connected Health’ – a framework for priorities to take the concept forward at ECHCampus up to 2011. (Read about it here www.echcampus.com/summit09/Manifesto%20for%20Connected%20Health.pdf)
Among the thinkers on board was Ilias Iakovidis from the European Commission. He told us that information networks within health delivery are releasing tens of million so pounds in efficiencies. With such vast gains to be had, e-health is emerging as the industry of the moment. It is the EU’s fastest growing industry of sector and is estimated to stand at €20 billion or 2% of health expenditure. People from Northern Ireland – at the ECHCampus and elsewhere – are contributing to innovation and leadership within this most vital of industries.
While we may have to wait until after June 4 for the psephologists to tell us about the health of European democracy, the First European Connected Health Leadership Summit held in Belfast this year told us much that’s exciting and innovative about European health.
So political parties were not the only ones to launch their manifestos for Europe. I would urge you to consider the ‘Manifesto for Connected Health’. It contains a vision that puts us at the heart of a truly innovative European industry. I look forward to its implementation
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