The Official Journal of the European Union on December 12 includes the publication of a series of Council conclusions on a safe and efficient healthcare through eHealth, an issue that the EU is trying to strengthen.

Members of the Council in its conclusions about healthcare through eHealth, would recall that one of the objectives of the Community strategy on health for 2008-2013 is to promote dynamic health systems and new technologies, because they can improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, facilitate patient safety and improve coordination of health systems, the use of resources and sustainability.

At the Prague ministerial conference on eHealth February 2009, representatives of Member States of the European Union issued a statement that acknowledged that eHealth could result in increased safety and efficiency of the health sector, called for action to build the area of eHealth to EU citizens and launched a process to coordinate their actions and improve governance in the eHealth sector.

EHealth has a great importance as a tool to improve the quality of care and patient safety, to modernize the national health systems, increase efficiency and make them more accessible to all and tailored to individual needs of patients and health professionals and the challenges of an aging society.

In its conclusions, which come after the Swedish Presidency report on eHealth for a healthier Europe, presented at the informal meeting of Health Ministers held in Jönköping on 6 and 7 July 2009, which illustrates how that health care policy objectives can be achieved through investment in eHealth, the Council urges the Commission and Member States to continue working in this area and identify and implement initiatives to enable the deployment and use of eHealth services.