COCIR publishes telehealth toolkit

European health IT trade body COCIR has launched a telemedicine toolkit to support the creation of a stronger European telemedicine sector.

The five recommendations in the position paper include that the EC and member states need to establish an appropriate legal framework with effective transposition at country level, cooperation needs to be strengthened between healthcare stakeholders to “best practice health strategies,” and there needs to be greater finance for large scale projects with health economic evaluation.

In addition, it recommends that telehealth needs to be interoperable and integrated into existing care delivery structures and that a sustainable economic model for telehealth by starting dialogue needs to be established.

COCIR secretary general, Nicole Denjoy, said: “The telemedicine toolkit sheds light on the opportunities telemedicine brings for empowering patients, particularly for better management of chronic diseases. The COCIR glossary of terms will bring clarity to the field and the database of studies will clearly demonstrate that telemedicine works.”

As well as the position paper, the toolkit includes a glossary of terms and a database of referenced studies of the effectiveness of telemedicine solution, has been produced in response to what COCIR describes as a need to “clarify the situation” on telemedicine.

COCIR is a non-profit trade association that promotes communication, common standards, and regulatory regimes. Recently joined members include Microsoft and Konica Minolta.

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COCIR