On 1st June 2004, 72 government representatives and experts from 24 countries gathered at a workshop on eHealth interoperability issues to discuss how this objective could be met. Attended by several countries, the resulting event was initiated by the German government together with those of Austria, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, France, Norway and the Republic of Slovakia. The workshop was hosted by the European Commission and organized by EHTEL.
"(Mobile) European citizens should be able to receive medical treatment based on their medical history throughout Europe".

Following this commitment a draft action plan was proposed and discussed during the panel session and a revised version will soon be submitted to all participants. We expect that it will recommend the setting-up of an official "European eHealth IOp (Inter-Operability) Group".
Dr. Gottfried T.W. Dietzel, the chairman of the meeting concluded "We have a unique chance to define a roadmap on eHealth interoperability. Interoperability is triggering cooperation between Member States and countries. This roadmap could focus on two priority areas where interoperability is an issue

• Electronic medication management
• Electronic Health Record Communication"

All presentations and related documents are available at www.ehtel.org.