epSOS cross-border European health information exchange activated

Over more than three years, the members of the epSOS project [European Patients Smart Open Services], cofunded by the European Commission, have invested hours of hard work as well as enthusiasm into the development of feasible cross-border eHealth services, addressing technical, semantic and legal interoperability challenges. These tremendous efforts have now finally  culminated in the large scale pilot entering into operational mode.

On the 13th of April 2012, the epSOS piloting phase has started, testing the technical, semantic and legal solutions that have been developed in the epSOS project in a real-life environment over a one-year period. This means that from now on, European patients that have agreed to take part in the epSOS pilot and epSOS health professionals will be using and evaluating the epSOS pilot cross-border Patient Summary, ePrescription and eDispensation services at points of care participating in the epSOS pilot. The intention is to demonstrate the concept that, with the help of epSOS, medical treatment for citizens residing in other countries can be improved by providing health professionals
with the necessary patient data in a secure electronic format.

The major challenge for secure cross border data exchange in respect of EU and national privacy regulations has been successfully addressed in a common approach accepted by the participating nations. It has then been implemented through national contractual arrangements which are based on the epSOS Framework Agreement. The protection of personal data will be systematically monitored during the operation of the services, to ensure continuing conformance and protection throughout the epSOS pilot. Visit www.epsos.eu/poc_database now to find healthcare provider participating in the epSOS pilot phase and learn more about the project at www.epsos.eu.