[EQ] eHealth for a Healthier Europe - opportunities for a better use of healthcare resources

eHealth for a Healthier Europe!
opportunities for a better use of healthcare resources


This study was conducted by Gartner on behalf of The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs in Sweden 2009

Available online as PDF file [84p.] at: http://www.sweden.gov.se/content/1/c6/12/98/15/5b63bacb.pdf



Fact sheet: eHealth for a Healthier Europe!
S2009.026- July 2009 - Ministry of Health and Social Affairs: http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/2028/a/129808



This report is the result of a study conducted by Gartner on behalf of the Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs.
The Ministry launched an initiative in 2008 with the objectives to:
• Make available a concrete example of how to work with a benefits model to analyse how political goals can be realised through eHealth
• Visualize and quantify fact-based benefits of continued implementation of eHealth in the EU
• Give partial support for prioritisation of eHealth initiatives
• Create a stepping stone for further work.



“………There is a significant healthcare improvement potential using eHealth as a catalyst. For the five political goals used in the study, the technology adoption is lower than 30%. The potential improvements are of such magnitude that they demand both attention and action from all member states.



Examples of quantified potentials include
:• 5 million yearly outpatient prescription errors could be avoided through the use of Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions.
• 100,000 yearly inpatient adverse drug events could be avoided through Computerised Physician Order Entry and Clinical Decision Support.
This would in turn free up 700,000 bed-days yearly, an opportunity for increasing throughput and decreasing waiting times,
corresponding to a value of almost €300 million
• 9 million bed-days yearly could be freed up through the use of Computer-Based Patient Records,
an opportunity for either increasing throughput or decreasing waiting times, corresponding to a value of nearly €3,7 billion.


The challenge of locating reliable data was a key issue when performing the study. In medicine, the demand for evidence has always been high and in that light it is paradoxical that key metrics related to healthcare quality, efficiency and availability of care are tracked in a scattered way, if measured at all. Gartner stresses the necessity for each of the member states to:

• Prioritise eHealth initiatives based on political goals and documented benefits
• Improve measurement and collection of healthcare statistics related to eHealth
• Continue to improve and develop present systems, and work on the communication of delivered success
• Develop methods to evaluate, track and reduce medical errors and wastage of resource
• Create a culture, which promotes development and praises success………..”

Content:


1. Introduction
2. Challenges for Healthcare
3. Can eHealth Contribute?
4. Methodology
4.1 About the Model
4.2 Robustness
4.3 Caveats
4.4 List of Political Goals, Technologies and Benefits
5. Benefits of eHealth – Overview
5.1 Major Benefits of eHealth
5.2 Major Contributing Technologies
5.3 Findings on Clinical Metrics Availability
6. Benefits of eHealth – Calculations
6.1 Improving Patient Safety
6.2 Increasing Quality of Care
6.3 Increasing Availability
6.4 Increasing Empowerment
7. Conclusions and Recommendations
Appendices
Appendix 1 – Methodology
Appendix 2 – Quantifying Potential Benefits
Appendix 3 – Political Goals
Appendix 4 – Technologies
Appendix 5 – Benefit Details


Swedish Strategy for eHealth. Safe and accessible information in health and social care. Status report 2009
http://www.sweden.gov.se/download/a97569e9.pdf?major=1&minor=124802&cn=attachmentPublDuplicator_0_attachment




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