Thursday 5, in Madrid Mato and Borg, on the Digital Single Market for Health and Consumers

05/09/2013

    _ Mato: “Currently, the aim is to make the European Electronic Health Record a reality as soon as possible”

    _ Borg: “The point isn’t expecting ministers to constantly increase health budgets, but to do it efficiently”

    _ Arias: “We’ll be able to offer our SMEs the opportunity to become ‘micromultinationals’: the exit of the crisis lies in the digital format”

    _ Zarzalejos: “The Welfare model needs to rest on a more efficient State, a more responsible society and a more productive economy”

On Thursday 5, FAES Foundation organised the conference “Toward the Digital Single Market: Health and Consumers”. The Minister of Health, Ana Mato, and the European Commissioner for Health, Tonio Borg, participated in it. Both Pablo Arias, member of the European Parliament and member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, and Javier Zarzalejos, Secretary-General of FAES Foundation, introduced the conference. 

During her address, the Minister of Health recalled the progress achieved in the field of e-health over the last year and a half: the design of digital platforms that benefit the single market in the field of health. Mato referred to the implementation of the European Electronic Health Record, a database that already includes 20 million citizens, as well as the electronic prescriptions, used by more than 60% of the population. “Currently, the aim is to make the European Electronic Health Record a reality as soon as possible”, the Minister stated.

Mato pointed out that all these measures “imply taking a step forward toward an e-health network that will boost telemedicine as a tool to provide customized medical care.” She believes that new technologies offer the possibility of tapping the digital single market both by the health and the consumer sectors. “The Government of Spain fully supports and contributes to the purpose of the European Union” the Minister stated, and added, “as administrations, we’re currently facing two challenges: understanding the magnitude of such a demanding task, and implementing the necessary measures to reduce the risks for consumers, in order to guarantee a high level of protection.” 

EFFICIENT BUDGETS

Tonio Borg, the European Commissioner for Health, highlighted the importance for companies to have access to the digital market in order to increase the European Union's GDP and employment. He assured this could have a multiplier effect. For that reason, he highlighted the commitment of the European institutions to the development of digital trade as well as to the efforts needed to guarantee certain aspects, such as transparency.

Borg said that he was “impressed by the progress achieved by Spain” in order to make the healthcare system sustainable. “The point isn’t expecting ministers to constantly increase health budgets, but to do it efficiently”, he emphasised. “Costs can be reduced” while keeping quality and, in this sense, “digital health saves money”, he stated. He pointed out some of the measures that are currently being implemented in order to reduce medical costs. He also highlighted that the models that are being currently implemented both in Madrid and Valencia “have been recognised as reference models to inspire other regions.”

‘MICROMULTINATIONALS’

Pablo Arias, PP party MEP, highlighted the importance of creating a true Digital Single Market and the opportunities that it offers. “We’ll be able to offer our SMEs the opportunity to become ‘micromultinationals’. Our aim is to get them to develop their tendency to grow.” Only if we succeed “will the exit of the crisis be in digital format”, he emphasised.

Arias claimed that the use of information technology in this field “has spread rapidly over the last years. Europe, its companies and its entrepreneurs may play a key role in this new activity, leading the development of an essential industry for citizens, who demand more and better health care.”

Javier Zarzalejos, Secretary-General of FAES Foundation, highlighted the commitment of FAES Foundation with society and the Welfare model. According to him, the model “needs to rest on a more efficient State, an increasingly responsible society with more freedom to choose, and an increasingly productive economy.” “Those will be the pillars of sustainability in our future Welfare model”, he highlighted.

Zarzalejos also stated that new technologies must be used for “reinforcing the commitment to all public policies, the aim of which is to preserve a public, universal, reasonable and high-quality healthcare system.”