Fondation EurActiv organised for Wednesday 14 July a lunchtime Stakeholder Workshop on healthcare, demography and ICT . The workshop was organised with the support of Intel.

Programme

The twin challenges of falling fertility and rising life expectancy have fostered dramatic demographic shifts for developed countries.

The greying of the European population poses an unprecedented challenge to the continent’s already overburdened welfare systems.

Increased numbers of older people will require higher investment in the healthcare sector and more health professionals. All the while, the changing ratio of retirees to workers – expected to double from four workers to two workers for every retiree by 2050 – will demand greater public spending on pensions and social security at a time when governments are struggling to balance budgets.

E-health and telemedicine promise to offer new prospects for both cost savings and improved quality of care. However, new technologies are also driving medical inflation and the benefits may not always be distributed equally.

• Will spending in health technology save money in the long run?
• Which technologies are most promising and how can we decide where to invest?
• Will healthcare continue to shift away from hospitals and towards community care?
• What are the barriers to change?
• What do patients want?

Contributors included:

• Antonyia PARVANOVA, MEP
• Constantijn VAN ORANJE-NASSAU, Member of the Cabinet Kroes
• Pascal GAREL, Chief Executive, HOPE –European Hospital and Healthcare Federation
• Kaisa IMMONEN-CHARALAMBOUS, Policy Officer, European Patients’ Forum
• Mário ROMÃO, Intel, Senior Policy Manager Digital Health

Moderator: Gary FINNEGAN, Editor, EurActiv.com

Chair: Rick ZEDNIK, CEO, EurActiv.com