Digital Health Study: Estonia overtakes Denmark as European eHealth Champion

“Annual European eHealth Survey 2019" from HIMSS, in cooperation with McKinsey, identifies key concerns in the European healthcare Industry

Cybersecurity, interoperability, and patient empowerment are major concerns in the European healthcare industry, according to the latest “Annual European eHealth Survey 2019" which surveyed over 500 professionals in the field. The study, which was conducted by HIMSS in cooperation with the management consultancy firm McKinsey & Company, also finds that  Estonia has swapped places with Denmark and is now perceived to be the leading eHealth country in Europe; EU citizens, for example, can retrieve medication prescribed electronically by doctors in Finland in Estonian pharmacies. 

Major Trends: Patient health records and telemedicine services

The Annual European eHealth Survey 2019, which has now been published in its 3rd edition, shows that the development of the eHealth industry in Europe is increasingly focusing on "patient empowerment", the ability of patients to not only access and use their own health records, but also to contribute to these records with self-generated data.

Digital patient empowerment requires a more advanced eHealth infrastructure. This seems to be the case in Italy (47%), Netherlands (39%) and the Nordics (34%); these countries are highlighting patient access to information as their key priority. The processing of patient generated data is particularly important to Spain (38%).

The importance of providing telemedicine services has significantly increased when comparing the results over the years. In some countries, like Germany, this rise can be linked to legislative initiatives where new reimbursement schemes incentivize the provision of such services.  

“In Germany and many other countries providers must speed up empowering patients thru electronic patient records and transparency in treatment outcome. The trend to outpatient treatment will further increase if outpatient provider leverage patient records to keep patients out of hospital”, says Jochen Messember, Partner at McKinsey & Company.

Funding remains prime obstacle

The digital transformation of Europe’s healthcare systems is also facing major challenges: IT funding remains a major obstacle (37%) in particular in the UK, Spain and Germany. The lack of interoperability standards allowing for data exchange between systems (29%) and the shortage of skilled eHealth professionals (28%) are also plaguing the industry.

Jörg Studzinski, Director Research at HIMSS concludes: “The Annual European eHealth Survey 2019 shows that the development of the eHealth industry in Europe is increasingly shifting towards patient empowerment and consumer-initiated digital health. Patient owned health records, their integration into clinical workflows, and telemedicine services will be high on the agenda everywhere. In digitally more advanced regions and countries like the Nordics, the Netherlands and Spain we also see a strong focus on topics like Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare Analytics. However, many of these capabilities will enter the market with some delay due to lack of funds and workforce shortages.”

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About HIMSS Annual European eHealth Survey 2019

The European eHealth Survey 2019 is supported by the international management consulting firm McKinsey & Company and provides insight into the current priorities, challenges and trends of the eHealth industry in Europe. From September to October 2019, HIMSS surveyed over 500 eHealth experts in 30 European countries. The annual eHealth Survey has been investigating varying and recurring topics in the industry since 2017. The quantitative survey was aimed at all healthcare stakeholders in Europe: health care professionals such as doctors, nurses, IT leaders and management, policymakers, consultants, researchers and health IT software companies participated.

About HIMSS

HIMSS is a global advisor and thought leader supporting the transformation of the health ecosystem through information and technology. As a mission driven non-profit, HIMSS offers a unique depth and breadth of expertise in health innovation, public policy, workforce development, research and analytics to advise global leaders, stakeholders and influencers on best practices in health information and technology. Through our innovation engine, HIMSS delivers key insights, education and engaging events to healthcare providers, governments and market suppliers, ensuring they have the right information at the point of decision. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, HIMSS serves the global health information and technology communities with focused operations across North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific. Our members include more than 80,000 individuals, 480 provider organizations, 470 non-profit partners and 650 health services organizations.

About McKinsey

McKinsey & Company is the leading top management consulting firm in Germany and around the world. Working in close collaboration with clients, McKinsey provides strategic consulting, digital transformation, talent development, risk management, marketing, design, process optimization, and functional excellence for private companies, public institutions, and social organizations. The firm’s clients include 28 of the 30 DAX companies. McKinsey has a number of offices in Germany and Austria, including Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich, Stuttgart, and Vienna. Worldwide, the firm operates from more than 120 offices in 65 countries. McKinsey was founded in 1926, with the first office in Germany opening in 1964. Kevin Sneader is the Global Managing Partner and Cornelius Baur is responsible for Germany and Austria.    
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