Leclercq Victoria, Saesen Robbe, Schmitt Tugce, Habimana Katharina, Habl Claudia, Gottlob Anita, Van den Bulcke Marc, Delnord Marie
Cancer Centre, Sciensano, National Public Health Institute, Brussels, Belgium.
Cancer Centre, Sciensano, National Public Health Institute, Brussels, Belgium.
J Cancer Policy. 2025 Jun;44:100593. doi: 10.1016/j.jcpo.2025.100593. Epub 2025 May 3.
Cancer is the second leading cause of mortality in Europe after cardiovascular diseases. Significant disparities exist across European countries in cancer prevention, diagnostics, treatment, and care, which impact patient outcomes. The Europe's Beating Cancer Plan aims to improve cancer prevention and care through innovative approaches including telemedicine (TM). TM services, such as teleconsultation and telemonitoring, offer opportunities to enhance patient-centered care, improve access to health services, and empower patients. However, challenges remain, including inadequate IT infrastructure, legal uncertainties, funding issues, and varying levels of digital literacy among the population. The eCAN Joint Action (JA), involving 16 European countries, was launched in September 2022 to strengthen eHealth solutions for cancer prevention and care. This JA focused on improving teleconsultation and remote monitoring, building healthcare capacity, and developing interoperable TM solutions. A key outcome was the eCAN policy dashboard, offering a country-specific overview of cancer-related and eHealth policies in European countries. Additionally, the eCAN roadmap proposed 16 recommendations across six intervention areas, addressing regulatory frameworks, stakeholder engagement, infrastructure development, training requirements, healthcare system integration, and outcomes evaluation. These recommendations aim to facilitate TM adoption across Europe. The upcoming JA eCAN+ initiative, starting in 2025, will further build on eCAN's work, advancing the sustainable implementation of TM services in cancer prevention and care in Europe.
癌症是欧洲仅次于心血管疾病的第二大死因。欧洲各国在癌症预防、诊断、治疗和护理方面存在显著差异，这对患者的治疗结果产生影响。欧洲抗癌计划旨在通过包括远程医疗（TM）在内的创新方法改善癌症预防和护理。远程会诊和远程监测等远程医疗服务为加强以患者为中心的护理、改善医疗服务可及性以及增强患者能力提供了机会。然而，挑战依然存在，包括信息技术基础设施不足、法律不确定性、资金问题以及民众数字素养水平参差不齐。由16个欧洲国家参与的eCAN联合行动（JA）于2022年9月启动，以加强癌症预防和护理的电子健康解决方案。该联合行动专注于改善远程会诊和远程监测、建设医疗能力以及开发可互操作的远程医疗解决方案。一个关键成果是eCAN政策仪表盘，它提供了欧洲国家癌症相关政策和电子健康政策的国别概述。此外，eCAN路线图在六个干预领域提出了16项建议，涉及监管框架、利益相关者参与、基础设施发展、培训要求、医疗系统整合以及成果评估。这些建议旨在促进欧洲各地对远程医疗的采用。即将于2025年启动的JA eCAN+倡议将在eCAN工作的基础上进一步推进，推动欧洲癌症预防和护理中远程医疗服务的可持续实施。
