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Doctors' orders: More telemedicine
Fat pipe diagnosis

By Jo Best

Published: Friday 07 November 2008

EU citizens could soon be consulting their doctor over broadband, after the European Union passed a resolution backing telemedicine.

Under a Communication backed by the EU this week, member states will seek to boost public confidence in remote medicine by encouraging scientists to promote its benefits and cost effectiveness.

According to the EU, remote monitoring can save health services significant cash. By using remote monitoring instead of keeping an individual in hospital, some health professionals can free up 70 per cent of their time.

It's not just money that can be saved - telemedicine can save lives too. The EU found that monitoring heart conditions remotely can cut 20 per cent off mortality rates.

EU countries will also now look at increasing the availability of telemedicine, such as remote diagnosis, treatment or monitoring, as well as sorting out the legislation around it.

Telemedicine tech will come under the EU's scrutiny, as states look to improve broadband infrastructure and interoperability of the devices used in remote health services.