Digital health literacy (own initiative opinion)

Key points

The EESC:

• endorses the Commission's efforts to make Digital Health Literacy a high priority within the eHealth Agenda;
• recommends the development of an overarching EU strategy with clear and closely monitored health literacy targets to support people's rights in health and avoid inequalities through digital devices;
• supports the results of the IC-Health project and recommends continuing implementation of the IC-HEALTH project in order to pursue the online training programmes already under way;
• emphasises that different generations need different approaches for the improvement of digital health literacy, depending on their use of digital tools in daily life;
• recommends establishing a link to the efforts made by the European Medicines Agency EMA, Heads of Medicines Agencies (HMA) and the European Commission;
• supports the view that eHealth solutions should be used as cost-effective tools in healthcare systems;
• stresses that the advantages of digital services can only be fully leveraged if people are able to access and properly understand the information provided;
• emphasises that the eHealth Action Plan needs to stimulate broad collaboration and cover people's entire life spans.

For more information please contact the INT Section Secretariat.