European 4th "eHealth Week 2010" and the 8th eHealth Ministerial Conference will be major annual events in the field of ICT for healthcare worldwide. This year well above 2000 participants will attend this event in Barcelona around the theme “eHealth for sustainable healthcare: global changes through local actions”.

EU ministers will meet and sign a declaration in which they set 2020 objectives for making healthcare systems benefiting from ICT applications ("eHealth") in the best interest of patients, healthcare professionals and society as a whole.

With approximately 29% of the EU's population predicted to be over 65 years old in 2050, the eHealth ministerial conference will recall that ICT brings innovative solutions to Europe's serious challenges to the sustainability of its national health systems e.g. as regards prevention and prediction of illnesses, demand for quality and patient-centric care, mobility of patients across border.

On the first day – 15th March – the Conference will host a set of Ministerial meetings and sessions to find new ways to address the challenges of healthcare at EU and local levels.

The participants will discuss the following themes:

• Health for Sustainable Healthcare Delivery
• eHealth Addressing Global Challenges through Local Actions
• eHealth works: Here is the Evidence
• eHealth Market: Past and Prospects
• eHealth User Platform

The background

For the first time, the eHealth Ministerial Conference 2010 will be held in conjunction (from 16 to 18 March 2010) with The World of Health IT Conference & Exhibition (WoHIT), a world-class annual event co-organised by stakeholders and the European Commission's Directorate-General for Information Society and Media.

The high-level "eHealth week" conferences have been hosted by the countries holding the EU presidency since 2003. Presentations are given on the latest technologies in on-line health, tools, applications and best practices. eHealth week 2010 provides a platform for politicians, researchers and industry from all round the world are meeting to share their experiences and to discover what is new in this fast-evolving area where Europe's technologies are in the lead.

eHealth is one of Europe's main priorities about research and development. Last year, the 7th eHealth Ministerial Conference took place in Prague in the framework of czech presidency of the European Union.