MHEALTH – EC Consultation. Your chance to shape future developments

The European Commission has today launched a consultation on existing barriers and issues related to mobile health (mHealth) deployment.

mHealth is part of eHealth whereby Information and Communication Technologies are used to support medical and public health practice. The focus of mHealth is on support through mobile devices, such as mobile phones or personal digital assistants.

The Commission’s Green Paper on mHealth considers the potential of mHealth with respect to healthcare (e.g. through increased efficiency in delivering care and patient empowerment), as well as its market potential.

Stakeholder views are are sought on questions in the following areas:

  • data protection, including security of health data;
  • big data;
  • state of play on the applicable EU legal framework;
  • patient safety and transparency of information;
  • mHealth role in healthcare systems and equal access;
  • interoperability;
  • reimbursement models;
  • liability;
  • research and innovation in mHealth;
  • international co-operation;
  • access of web entrepreneurs to the mHealth market.

Alongside the Green Paper, the Commission has published a Staff Working Document which aims to give a non-exhaustive description of EU legislation applicable to lifestyle and wellbeing apps. Interested parties are invited to respond to the consultation by 3 July 2014.

mHealth in Horizon 2020
A number of mHealth-related projects received funding under FP7, including NEPHRON+, which looks at personalised treatment and management of patients with chronic renal failure, and REACTION, aimed at developing a platform to support improved long-term management of diabetes.

Funding for research in the area of mHealth is provided also under Horizon 2020, e.g. through topic PHC-26-2014 ‘Self-management of health and disease: citizen engagement and mHealth’ (budget: EUR 59.6 million) within the Societal Challenge on ‘Health, demographic change and wellbeing’.

See the website for the full UKRO article and links to relevant documents http://www.ukro.ac.uk/subscriber/Pages/140410_mhealth_consultation.aspx