Dear Healthcare Informatics Insider,
Welcome to the November edition of this email newsletter, which provides regular updates on the latest developments in Europe.
The safe and secure storage of data lies at the heart of any healthcare IT system, but the commercial aspects of this area tend to receive little or no attention. Vendors derive revenue from storing data, and today's multidetector CT scans produce gigabytes of data. Our columnist Dr. Neelam Dugar, chair of the U.K. Royal College of Radiologists' Imaging Informatics Group, urges you to think more about this topic. To get her viewpoint, visit our Healthcare Informatics Digital Community or click here.
Usage of electronic medical records (EMRs) remains patchy in Europe but appears to be growing steadily. Three healthcare organizations -- Azienda ULSS 18 Rovigo in the Veneto region of Italy, the Hospital Clinic Provincial de Barcelona, and the University Hospital (Inselspital) of Berne in Switzerland -- have been praised for their progress with EMRs. Click here for the full story.
Another institution that has achieved success in this field is the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany, which became the first hospital in Europe to obtain the top rating on HIMSS Analytics' Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) scale. To find out more, click here.
Denmark also represents a rare success story when it comes to EMRs. It has made swift progress due to the judicious use of incentives and regulations, plus a focus on the interoperability of various systems rather than using a single one, according to research published by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Get the story here.
Overall, though, healthcare IT adoption in Europe needs to accelerate, and e-health initiatives must be patient-centered, noted speakers at the European Health Forum Gastein, held last month in Bad Hofgastein, Austria. Click here for more details.
