In late 2008, the e-inclusion awards were established for the first time by the European Commision to recognise excellence and good practice in using ICT and digital technology to tackle social and digital exclusion across Europe.
The Greeks got home with the Inclusive Public Services Award for a pilot e-health project run by Sotiria Hospital. The project enables doctors and practitioners to monitor the patients’ condition remotely. The results so far indicate:
- 28% of patients have reported a far better quality of life
- Hospital readmission rates and lengths of stay have fallen by more than 60%
- Emergency room visits have been reduced by 40%
- 60% savings have been achieved through fewer hospitalisations.
The people involved are planning ways to scale the pilot on a national scale. This is quite impressive and received moderate promotion even by the local media. Europa.eu has recently published a video about the project that you can watch here.