Toespraak van staatssecretaris Van Rijn bij de eHealth week in Riga

Toespraak | 11-05-2015

Let me first compliment our hosts on the excellent organisation of eHealth Week 2015. I can see you have made every effort to ensure this year’s eHealth Week is a success, with an interesting and informative programme for all  international participants. I hear there has also been a lot of positive feedback on Latvia’s Presidency of the EU. Something to be proud of.

The Riga eHealth Week focuses on how mobile applications can improve patient engagement. This week’s ‘MeHealth’ slogan reflects this focus perfectly. Across the world, a fundamental change is taking place: citizens can and want to manage more and more of their healthcare themselves.

The pace at which new technologies are becoming available, offers people even more possibilities. New eHealth applications can help prevent, treat or manage diseases and disorders. Or help the elderly live independently for longer. And let’s not forget the many communication technologies that benefit those with physical or intellectual disabilities, or the elderly, who often suffer from social isolation.

Every day, new apps and tools are being created. It’s an exciting time, but it also raises questions:

-      What’s the quality of these new apps?

-      And how do they affect patient privacy?

-      What about interoperability?

-      How do they affect the way patient care is organized?

-      Are there consequences for patient safety?

-      And how will we incorporate these new technologies into our national healthcare systems?

Due to the rapid developments in e-health it is – to say it dramatically – necessary to rethink the way healthcare is organized in our countries. We must find ways to find a new optimum were new technologies contribute to a more patient oriented healthcare.  An optimum in which we need not be afraid of replacing “cold technology” in “warm healthcare”.

The Netherlands will be organizing the 2016 eHealth Week. So I hope to be your host next year. We’re pleased to be able to make good use of the work done by the Latvia team and I look forward to seeing you again next year in Amsterdam.

Patient empowerment will be a central theme of next year’s event. We need to consider the advantages innovation offers patients. Patients themselves are helping to push through and scale-up valuable innovations. And we need to make even better use of this.

Sharing our experiences of eHealth implementation is what eHealth Week is all about. That way, we can adopt each other’s good practices. Previous editions in Athens, Dublin and Copenhagen have shown how important this gathering is. The Amsterdam eHealth Week will build on the work done in Riga. We’ll also focus on the social changes taking place. People are demanding innovation across the healthcare sector.

Innovation that helps them get what they want: longer independent living, more control over their health care and a more equal relationship with their healthcare providers. The Netherlands has three dear eHealth goals for the years ahead:

-      Within five years, we want 80 percent of chronically ill patients to have access to their medical records.

-      We want self-testing to be available to 75 percent of chronically ill patients and vulnerable elderly people.

-      And we want everyone who receives care or assistance at home to have access to online care and consultations.

These goals are realistic and ambitious at the same time. Realistic, because it is technically possible. Ambitious, because they have an enormous effect on how healthcare organizations will change in the light of these developments. Next year, ask me what progress we’ve made. I am looking forward to share your experiences in your countries. That way, we’ll keep working towards our shared goal: giving our citizens the best care possible.

Thank you.