Health research in FP7

The Health theme is a major theme of the Cooperation programme, and its funding comes to a total of € 6.1 billion over the duration of FP7. Its objective is to improve the health of European citizens and augment the competitiveness of health-related industries. Issues tackled in the health theme include health technologies and biotechnology, translating research for human health, and optimising the delivery of health care to EU citizens.

Inclusion of 'high-tech' SMEs in most projects throughout the work programme is a priority of the Health theme. 

• Biotechnology, generic tools and medical technologies for human health: This area focuses on data management, detection, diagnosis and monitoring, evaluation of the efficacy of therapies, and innovative therapeutic approaches such as gene and cell therapy
• Translating research for human health: integration of biological data and processes: large-scale data gathering, systems biology, research on diseases, human development and ageing
• Optimising the delivery of healthcare to European citizens: translation of clinical outcome into clinical practice (e.g. patient safety or benchmarking), quality, efficiency and solidarity of health care systems, enhanced health promotion and disease prevention
• International cooperation is an important aspect of FP7 and is an integral part of health research.

An EU priority in the public health area: eHealth

eHealth is the overarching term for the range of tools based on information and communication technologies used to assist and enhance the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, and management of health and lifestyle. The EU is trying to achieve a “European eHealth Area”. In 2004, the Commission adopted the eHealth action plan to facilitate a more harmonious and complementary European approach to eHealth. Promoting the accessibility of eHealth services is a top priority of the action plan. 

In 2007, eHealth was chosen as one of the EU Lead Market Initiatives, with a three-year action plan ongoing until 2011, which aims at reducing market fragmentation and lack of interoperability, improving legal certainty, and facilitating access to funding.

Electronic patient summaries and electronic prescriptions are two pilot applications that are being realized in this context. The Commission is also working on the digitization of cross-border healthcare in Europe. It is developing an e-EHIC, an electronic version of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which was presented at the Ministerial Conference on eHealth in Prague in February 2009. The e-EHIC aims at making online verification of around sixty standardized electronic documents relating to health insurance coverage or other administrative issues in the context of healthcare possible, on the basis of bilateral or multilateral agreements between European Member States. The legal basis for the e-EHIC came into effect on the 1st of March, 2010, and the system should be fully operational in 2012.

To build further on the Action Plan, EU ministers have outlined a joint vision and policy priorities on how to make eHealth more accessible, interactive and customised to patients at the 8th Ministerial eHealth Conference in Barcelona on the 15th March, 2010. The declaration identifies key objectives to be achieved in the next ten years. It calls for policy coordination amongst the various areas where eHealth can have an impact on citizens' health, and recognises the need for stronger synergies with policy areas like competitiveness, research and regional development at European and national levels. The importance of eHealth should be underlined in the future EU 2020 Strategy and in the European Digital Agenda.