“While there is great research and important pilots in place today – the fact remains that technology is not yet empowering most Europeans to manage their health. We cannot afford stagnation in this area. Europe is on the frontline of ageing population issues. With increasing health costs and decreasing number of care workers, any failure to radically improve our use of technology will spell disaster for Europe and individual Europeans.
So we have a challenge on our hands – especially when many citizens feel more generally that technology is passing them by. But we have a very good case to make. In spite of the fears and frustrations that many have, simple technologies exist to help us be much more involved in our own care. I mean, for example, the chance to engage in wellbeing exercises at the click of a mouse, or to avoid time-consuming visits to the doctor through telemonitoring and/or webcam check-ups. While these can be the simplest of tasks, such little changes often make the most difference to a busy life.”
Article
Neelie Kroes, eGov, 19 January 2011
