Margarida Tavares said the pandemic highlighted “the centrality of information systems in the way epidemiological surveillance is conducted.”
“The pandemic has reinforced the importance of maintaining a strong national health service, with people at its centre, with the public health service as a fundamental pillar, available to all, regardless of each person’s social, economic or geographical status,” said Margarida Tavares, on December 15 in Lisbon. .
The Secretary of State for Health Promotion spoke at the opening of the conference “Digitalization in the continuous promotion of health and well-being”, initiated by the Association for the Promotion and Development of the Information Society (APDSI). In her intervention, the Minister recalled that the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted “the centrality of information systems in the way epidemiological surveillance is carried out.”
In this context, Margarida Tavares said, “National Health Service excellence requires continuous encouragement of innovation,” adding that “it is possible to benefit from digital health solutions to invest in promoting greater well-being and liberating people and communities in the ability to choose healthy ways of life.”
The government is reshaping the use of technology in the National Health Service, investing more than €300 million of Recovery and Resilience Plan funds in the digital transformation of health, with the aim of accelerating the strengthening of infrastructures and data networks, developing new tools to empower citizens, value the work of professionals, and creating new data storage circuits. And use it.
“Digital health is increasingly assuming a leading role in European health, and Portugal is recognized as one of the countries at the forefront,” the Minister stated. “Investing in SNS is unequivocal proof that we want to ensure it has a more ambitious future,” he stressed.
The European Council approved a mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament on a legislative proposal on the European Health Data Space (EEDS), on 6 December. Under this proposal, the “My Health@EU” infrastructure, which already allows cross-border access to health data, will be expanded and strengthened by the mandatory establishment of digital health authorities in each Member State, facilitating citizens’ access to e-Health. Data and ensuring the exchange of information with quality, security and privacy.
The HealthData@EU infrastructure will also be created to support cross-border access, within the scope of secondary use of health data, allowing the enormous potential of EU health data to be explored, supporting scientific research, and the development of diagnostics and treatment. Advanced technologies further enhance personalized medicine.
“We want to have in Portugal a real health promotion agenda, effective and organised, equipped with the necessary resources and means to prepare citizens, businesses and the national health service to face future challenges,” the Foreign Minister concluded.
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