eHealth Conference at the British Embassy
A Brit, a Canadian and an American Attend an eHealth Conference at the British Embassy
By SOPHIE BAIRD, KIMBERLY CHINFATT, AND YURI CARTIER
Bright and early, on a very sunny March 15th, students Yuri, Kimberly, and Sophie, along with EHESP student coordinator Louise, ventured out to a Franco-British conference on e-health hosted by the British Embassy in Paris. Flashing our official invitations and IDs at the guarded entrance, the four of us, dressed in our power suits, gathered in the Reception Hall for coffee, orange juice and croissants, excited for what the day might have in store for us.
The morning was kicked off in the Throne Room with a welcome (in Franglish, of course) by Sir Peter Ricketts, the recently appointed British ambassador, who explained how e-health has been growing in the UK. E-health refers to the use of information technology (IT) in the provision of healthcare with uses that can range from self-monitoring devices, to electronic patient records, to personal alarms. Also included within this category is telemedicine, whose goal is to increase self-care in the home setting, and decrease physical distances between patients and providers, ultimately leading to improved quality of life and care.
Speakers from both the UK and France exchanged their experiences and knowledge of IT in healthcare. England’s advances and France’s opportunities, as well as challenges, were presented along with details of on-going programmes and new models that are bringing e-health to life. With many British companies present, several innovative technological products were promoted. Elevator speeches were scattered throughout the presentations to keep us on our toes; similar to being stuck in an elevator with a pushy sales representative, UK companies were given strictly just five minutes to present their products and experiences and convince us they were the ones with the most innovative products and ideas.
With a professional interest in long-term conditions and having previously worked in the NHS, Sophie was particularly captured by the talk on the 3MillionLives campaign in England. After publishing the world’s largest telehealth and telecare randomised control trial (the Whole Systems Demonstrator programme) in December 2011, the UK Department of Health estimated that the use of e-health could reduce mortality by approximately 45%. This is a hugely significant number of people! With this in mind, the 3MillionLives campaign, set up this year, believes that in five years “at least three million people with long term conditions and/or social care needs could benefit from the use of telehealth and telecare services”. Although the technology exists to realise these figures, emphasis was put on the need for service transformations and managerial changes in order to better accommodate the use of technology in healthcare.
After a coffee break and a chance to admire the beautiful surroundings the conference continued with ASIP Santé describing e-health as a necessity in healthcare, and not a luxury. They also made the point that patient empowerment has been on a sharp increase since its conception in the 80s and that e-health is a great tool for tapping into this trend. In France, the electronic medical record (EMR) (dossier médical personnel – DMP) is seen as an empowerment tool for patients who can access their records at any time and mask some information if they choose to do so. The DMP, still in its infancy, has a view to compulsory implementation over time. Most English hospitals have already implemented the EMR but patients are allowed to opt out if desired. However, unlike France, English patients can only see their medical record upon special request and must pay to receive a hard copy of it.
The final item on the agenda was the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement who described the history of e-health in England. They gave a very frank and upfront presentation, not shying away from the mistakes that were made and the lessons that have been learnt from them. Barriers and enablers were identified as being very important in the implementation of IT in healthcare; pathways alone are not sufficient, relationships are also needed. The Institute has published a practical guide entitled Leading Large Scale Change which incorporates many steps to help build interest and achieve full scale change.
All in all, it was a great day with lots of coffee, small food (very French) and many networking opportunities. However, somewhat surprisingly, not a single cup of tea was to be found, despite this being the British embassy!
For more information on any of the above, please refer to the following links:
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