EU summit on e-health in Tromsø

-"The conference has never before been organized outside the EU. This is a vote of confidence in Norway and Tromsø, and shows that we are regarded as being in the forefront of ICT development in the health service," says Ansgar Gabrielsen, Norway's Minister of Health and Care Services.

The conference will focus on public health, with topics such as how we can improve the availability and quality of the health services, patient safety and productivity. Another conference theme will be the question of how the health services can improve the way they fulfil the needs of patients and the public while promoting the population's knowledge about health. We will also look at opportunities to facilitate staff and patient mobility in and between countries, and in this way to tackle new challenges resulting from increased mobility in Europe.

-"By holding the conference in Tromsø, we can showcase the excellent Norwegian work taking place in e-health to the rest of Europe," says Gabrielsen. "This also provides opportunities for international cooperation that can contribute to new solutions in the field."

The Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine in Tromsø will be the local organizer in charge of the practical arrangements on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Care Services.

-"This is a major event for us. Naturally, we want to take the opportunity to profile the telemedicine community in Tromsø. We choose to interpret this as recognition of the work that has been invested in the telemedicine community in the north for a decade," says Steinar Pedersen, who heads the centre.

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