Digitization of health care in the Czech Republic once again takes center stage. Although there are now diverse digitization projects, some health insurance companies and selected providers or regions have only begun partial initiatives. System-wide solutions are missing. That is why the government’s National eHealth Strategy was adopted in the autumn of 2016. It is expected that a number of national eHealth projects will be implemented in the coming years, whether as data sharing between healthcare providers, provision of online patient information, or telemedicine development. The first major project is the introduction of mandatory electronic prescriptions starting 1 January 2018.
Although many experts say that modern medicine is not possible without digitization, part of the medical community is refusing to introduce eHealth into the Czech healthcare system. This is despite the fact that digitization of healthcare is a trend in many developed countries, such as Denmark, the Netherlands and Estonia. This negative attitude is primarily based on the cost increases associated with digitization, data protection, and a fear of Big Brother.
Are these fears valid? How did countries such as Slovakia or Estonia enter into digitization? What are the positives and negatives of eHealth? What are the benefits and/or risks associated with electronic prescriptions? How can digitization improve communication between the patient and their healthcare provider? How can we ensure data security of health information in our current digital age? Should the government invest in a centralized or decentralized eHealth system?
The event will take place on 9 November 2017 in a form of business breafast. The moderator will be Adam Vojtěch, Leader of Group on Health, Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic.
Dieter Feierabend, a project leader sustainable social systems & healthcare, NEOS Lab (Austria)
Peter Blaškovitš, a director of the National Health Information Center (Slovakia)
Pavel Vepřek, a leader of the initiative Healthcare 2.0 (Czech Republic)
This is a roundtable discussion organized by the European Liberal Forum (ELF) with the assistance of the Institute for Politics and Society, and co-funded by the European Parliament. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of the program, or for any use that may be made of it. These views do not necessarily reflect those of the European Parliament and/or the European Liberal Forum.