In the coming era of primary care physician shortage, involving pharmacists in conjunction with telemedicine in primary care may provide a solution to guarantee good and efficient medical access for the population. netCare is a new interdisciplinary collaboration between pharmaSuisse (association of Swiss pharmacists), MEDGATE Swiss Center for Telemedicine and the Helsana health insurance group.

The service, which was initiated earlier this year, is offered in 200 specialized pharmacies throughout Switzerland, which are equipped with video conferencing systems in order to contact a MEDGATE physician directly.



With netCare, patients can receive a formal and documented initial consultation (triage) with a physician over a video link at a pharmacy.

The videoconference system can be expanded by incorporating additional components if necessary. For instance, diagnostic devices and an additional monitor can be connected to measure a patient's heart rate, blood pressure and temperature.

"This collaboration between pharmacists, physicians and insurers is playing a key role in helping to boost the efficiency and quality of basic healthcare delivery," said Dominique Jordan, president of pharmaSuisse.

A demo film can be seen at www.netCare-Apotheke.ch.

The annual meeting of the Global eHealth Ambassadors Program (GeHAP) took place in Lisbon, Portugal just before the summer. GeHAP, an ISfTeH initiative with support from the Gulbenkian Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and Microsoft, aims to raise the profile of eHealth worldwide through advocacy activities.

The eHealth Ambassadors are well-known and respected personalities, with a personal interest in health and humanitarian activities, who, on behalf of the GeHAP, assist in addressing the major grand challenges in creating a repository of knowledge, in scaling eHealth interventions to suit the circumstances, in transforming health workers and citizens into eHealth savvy consumers, and strengthening national healthcare systems and thus improving healthcare outcomes worldwide.

The Lisbon meeting discussed ways forward and was an opportunity among eHealth Ambassadors, ISfTeH officials and other participants to share views and set up new activities.

Paulo Macedo, Portuguese Minister of Health, commented on how "a powerful message on the value of eHealth is necessary to convince the sceptical, the uninformed, all who are not willing to risk using something new, in areas of medical and health practice." He added: "We, at the Portuguese Health Ministry, are fighting daily for the sustainability of our health care system. We need to guarantee affordable and effective care, while paying off large debts from the past, but, from day one, eHealth was part of our strategy." Mr. Macedo provided the example of the Alentejo region with very low population density, where a policy of proximity and access was envisioned, which only telemedicine could provide. In 1998, tele-consultations were started and already in 2000, this was considered part of daily routine. From 2000 to 2010, over 135.000 telemedicine acts were performed.

John Dalli, European Commissioner for Health, commended the GeHAP initiative for its "admirable foresight". He said: "I wholeheartedly share your enthusiasm as regards the potential of eHealth - towards delivering better, safer and more efficient healthcare to citizens across the world. eHealth is indeed a main pillar on which to build our action to achieve equality in health."
Commissioner Dalli also echoed the claim of Paulo Macedo that the success of eHealth calls for a definition of new tasks, new skills, new ways of financing, cost sharing, risk-sharing, and that this will entail profound changes as regards the role of the different actors in health - "a real cultural shift" as he called it: "Health professionals have a key role to play in the uptake of eHealth. However, some may show resistance towards what they perceive as a loss of control; the need to liaise with patients from distance; or the need to acquire new skills. That is why health professionals need to be fully on board in the progressive development of eHealth."
Dalli explained that the soon to be released new eHealth Action Plan will address these issues and support EU Member States to achieve patient-centred, cost-effective healthcare in a competitive and innovation-friendly environment.
He concluded that there is no single easy path to eHealth transformation and that much value comes from sharing experiences and best practices between countries, institutions and professionals.....which exactly turns out to be the mission of the ISfTeH and the GeHAP!

For more information on the GeHAP, or to get involved, contact [email protected].

Some of the high level participants at the meeting and the eHealth Ambassadors who were in attendance, are pictured below. 

 

Participants at the GeHAP meeting included (left to right): Paulo Macedo (Portuguese Minister of Health), Jorge Sampaio (Former President of Portugal, United Nations Secretary-General's High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations and Special Envoy to Stop Tuberculosis), John Dalli (European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Chair of the GeHAP), Artur Santos Silva (President of the Gulbenkian Foundation).

 

eHealth Ambassadors in attendance (left to right): Lord Nigel Crisp (Former Chief Executive of the UK NHS), Emilio Rui Vilar (Former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Gulbenkian Foundation), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Chair of the GeHAP), Peter Gabriel (Musician and Human Rights Activist), Strive Masiyiwa (Founder and Chairman of Econet Wireless)