Growth of eHealth boosted by mobile health devices

The market for electronic health technology or eHealth is growing fast in the European Union. This is largely due to the unstoppable demand for mobile health devices which help patients to monitor their health, communicate with their doctors and store medical records. Meanwhile, the EU institutions are trying to speed up legislation to boost growth in the sector.

The demand for such services is expected to grow exponentially as the ageing baby boomers put increasing pressure on healthcare systems. It is estimated that nearly 30% of Europeans will be over 65 by the year 2050.

Many phone and TV companies across Europe are currently developing technologies to check your blood pressure and sugar level, and will remind you to take your medicine. This information is relayed over cable and satellite networks to users. KPN offers its diabeticStation in the Netherlands, Telecom Italia has the MyDoctor@home service, and Orange has a medication reminder solution. These services help to reduce the cost and time patients spend in hospital or at the doctor. In Belgium, Belgacom is testing a project for people with heart conditions, while Portugal Telecom and Deutsche Telekom have services for disabled people.

The eHealth industry has a critical role to play in the European Union