eHealth Week 2012 ONSITE GUIDE - World of Health IT

e H e a l t h W e e k 2 0 1 2 O N S I T E G U I D E
Conference Sessions
Wednesday, 9 May l Closing Plenary Session
14:45–16:00
14:45–16:00 Hall C5
PL5 | Challenges in the European Healthcare Sector and a Technological Perspective on
a Remedy?
Mr. Ole Kjær, Director of Organisational Development – Ministry of Taxation
Dr. Josep Figueras, Director of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, WHO European Centre
for Health Policy
KEYNOTE
Demographics as well as economic challenges face healthcare now and with increasing intensity in the coming years. A change of
mind-set is required to face these challenges. Dr. Josep Figueras, the Director of the European Observatory on Health Systems
and Policies, WHO European Centre for Health Policy will give a speech on the challenges that we face currently and in future.
Better adapted healthcare services and a preventive approach to chronic diseases could reduce public spending on health and
dependency care by half.
One of the means to increase productivity in healthcare to meet some of the challenges that we face is eHealth. eHealth can:
• Increase flexibility and promote new ways of organizing treatment leading to increased output and improved quality in care for
patients
• Enable a more individual based treatment by mobilizing and thereby empower and involve patients in their own treatment
• Improve working conditions for the employees in the health and welfare sectors
Most European healthcare systems will undergo a transformation in the coming years not least due to the above-mentioned factors
and will be forced to use resources even more efficiently. One of the most immediate resources that are poorly utilized today is the
patient’s own. eHealth can contribute to that end. On the basis of a sector that has come a long way in mobilizing the citizen it is
illustrated how ICT can play a significant role.
The plenary session will look into possible ways that digitisation has supported the tax system in providing a more efficient and
service minded approach to the citizen. The Danish Tax system has been subject to a radical change in the management of the
citizen’s tax matters. In 1987 it was paper based. In 2008 80 % was paperless and only a few percent involved paper. What are
the lessons learned and the efficiency gained from another public sector in regard to the radical way of communicating with the
Danish tax payers and manage the citizen’s tax matters?
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LINKING PEOPLE, POTENTIAL AND PROGRESS