title: The road ahead.
abstract: The recent events dedicated to eHealth, such as eHealth 2003 and eHealth 2004 Ministerial conferences and exhibition, demonstrated clearly that a critical mass of users is being created who already use eHealth services and applications. Citizens, patients and health professionals are experiencing growing benefits from the use of eHealth applications which can increase citizen information, increase patient empowerment, speed up delivery, and reduce medical risks. Yet despite their availability and proven benefits, eHealth systems and services are not yet widely used in real-life medical or health situations. In many places, development is still at a pilot phase, often financed through research grants.
authors.affiliation: European Commission, DG Information Society.
authors.forename: Ilias
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Iakovidis
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Jean Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Healy
mesh_terms: D003226:Congresses as Topic; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D005062:European Union; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D008491:Medical Informatics Applications; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical