Telemedicine in Asturias.

Asturias has presented Thursday, April 19, at the Committee of the Regions of the EU's its experience in telemedicine in the Health Area I of the Principado de Asturias, with head in the hospital Jarrio in the framework of the Health and Telemedicine Network rural (RESATER) and leaves the surrounding Asturian in an advantageous position in Spain in regard to the implementation of new technologies in the healthcare system.

This initiative, developed jointly by the Goberment of Asturias and the Asturian Federation of Councils (FACC) was presented at the Workshop 'e-health: what solutions arise for the future of Europe's rural areas?', With which the Committee of the Regions in Brussels decommissioning projects promoted by the Territorial Cooperation Programme European Space Southwest.

The experience that Goberment of Asturias presented in this seminar focuses on a program for patients in rural areas can be made from their own health centers screening of diabetic retinopathy, a disease is the leading cause of blindness among patients with diabetes among 25 and 65. The project spokesperson Crisanto Alonso, noted that telemedicine enables early diagnosis, lowers health care costs and a savings to the patient, who does not have to travel to hospital when living in scattered areas of rural Asturias.

Before the start of this program, patients in the health area should be periodically these tests had to move to the Regional Hospital of Jarrio, what is now avoided. After application of telemedicine, 85 percent of the 952 patients enrolled in the program in the Northwest could perform the tests required in their respective health centers without having to go to the hospital. The reduction of the revisions is 42.5 percent, a saving which is estimated at around 60,000 euros.

The methodology of the program is that a medical team with medical instruments goes to health centers, where they took fundus photographs of patients who have to do the test.

United Europe wants one informatic system for digital heatlh records and electronic prescriptions for 2015.

The European Commission has published health guidelines included in the strategy called "Europe 2020", designed to improve Europe's economic growth over the next decade. Among the health priorities for the next ten years, is to establish a system of 'e-health' (including, among others, digital health records and electronic prescriptions) that will be compatible with all EU countries before 2015.

The goal is to start in 2012 designing a single network for all of Europe from the results of the pilot 'Epsos', already involved in 20 of the 27 EU countries, including Spain, Turkey and Switzerland among others.

With this philosophy, "Europe 2020" also provides for the implementation of a safe method for patients to access the network through their medical history and encourage the use of telemedicine.

Europe calls for further support in the use of new technologies in health.

The European Comission appealed, last Tuesday, all the EU members to encourage the introduction of eHealth services to guarantee a better and safer health care. This is also a way of reducing costs and, in a long term, of sustaining the health systems in Europe.

"Apart from the budget cuts, in the next 20 years the number of europeans aged 65 or more will raise about a 45%, according the forecast, from 85 millions in 2008 to 123 millions in 2030 and this will cause a huge impact in health, society and economy", the Commissioner for Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, declared during the opening of the ehealth conference, held in Budapest in may 10th - 12th.

The Commissioner for Digital Agenda considered "inacceptable" the lack of compromise of the governments in facilitating this kind of services to patients, "even if this means structural changes in health Sytems".

The Commissioner appealed the EU members to promote the use of new information and communication technologies (TIC) to boost diagnosis, prevention, treatment and innovative technological solutions based in telemedicine and remote monitoring systems. Hospital admissions would be reduced with the generalization of telemedicine.

News item published in "elmundo.es". If you want to read more, click here.