The document discusses EU-US cooperation in eHealth policy and research, highlighting various strategies and initiatives like the eHealth Action Plan and the Virtual Physiological Human (VPH) project. It emphasizes the importance of interoperability, standardization, and the safe reuse of health data for public health and research. Additionally, it outlines collaborative efforts with international partners including the NIH and the open calls for projects involving US participants.

1. EU-US Cooperation in eHealth policy
and Research
Ilias Iakovidis, PhD
Acting Head of Unit -ICT for Health,
DG Information Society and Media
European Commission

2. eHealth in EU
1) Individual Member States'
eHealth policy strategies
www.ehealth-era.org
2) EU wide strategy
• EC Research (FP) and Innovation
programmes 450 projects, €1 Billion
• eHealth Action plan (2004)
• Lead Market Initiative (2007)
• EC Recommendation on EHR
Interoperability (2008)
• Telemedicine Action Plan (2008)

3. EU-US Cooperation in eHealth
Policy and support to deployment
• Benchmarking/ assessment of benefits
• Interoperability
• why: safety, efficacy, continuity of care, defragmentation of global market: competition
better quality at lower price
• What: global approach to standardisation (PS 27 17/3) ,
• interoperability testing, certification
Relevant EU Project: www.epsos.eu
• Re-use of health data for public health, education and research
• why: safety, efficacy, continuity of care, defragmentation of global market: competition
better quality at lower price
• What: converging standards, interoperability testing, certification
Example project: www.transformproject.eu
• EU-US Cooperation in eHealth
• www.eurorec.org/RD/ARGOS.cfm

4. The Virtual Physiological Human (VPH)
International Initiative
The Virtual Physiological Human is a
methodological and technological framework
that once established will enable the
investigation of the human body as a single
complex system.
The VPH research roadmap developed by
project STEP in 2007: www.europhysiome.org
Relevant EU Project:
www.vph-Noe.eu

5. EU-US Cooperation on VPH
WHAT
• Cooperation with NIH
http://www.nibib.nih.gov/Funding/MultiscaleModeling, http://www.cancer.gov/
and in particular in IMAG group activities http://www.imagwiki.org/mediawiki/
• Some cooperation with Japan and China
• International organizations to our VPH projects (5 new
contracts start now with partners from US in 2010)
• Current call on VPH is open and encourages US partners
• The call in 2012 will have dedicated budget to US, CA, NZ,
Chna partners
Conferences with participation of US and EU projects
• ICT-BIO 2006 and 2008
• IMAG symposium: http://www.siam.org/meetings/ls08/index.php
• Healthgrid conferences
• VPH 2010 29-30 October 2010, Brussels