37 European countries and 11of their ministers are expected to attend the e-Health conference in Norway

The EU's annual ministerial conference on eHealth takes place from 23 to 24 May 2005 in Tromso, Norway.

Mr. Ansgar Gabrielsen, Norway's Minister of Health and Care Services, is hosting the conference to be held in collaboration with Luxembourg, which currently holds the EU presidency, and the European Commission. The Norwegian Directorate for Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with the Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine has been assigned the operative responsibility for planning the conference in Tromso. eHealth 2005 will focus on: · How eHealth can improve the availability and quality of health services, · How patient safety and productivity can be enhanced, and · How eHealth can help to make it possible for services to function across national borders, reducing the disadvantages that result from the greater mobility of patients and health professionals in and between the countries of Europe. High attendance Ministers of health and ICT ministers from all EU's member states, countries applying for EU membership and EFTA countries have been invited to the conference. 11 ministers and 450 participants will attend the conference in Tromso. The high attendance at the conference has forced us to reserve the few remaining places for the press. The EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, Markos Kyprianou, will discuss key aspects of the EU's health policy, including issues related to mental health. Richard Granger – the "ICT Czar" at Britain's National Health Service (NHS) – will share his experience from the programmes to digitize the public health services. The UK has made great progress in eHealth and is using substantial resources to modernize the sector. The aim is to provide improved, faster and more accessible services to the population. Can TV be used to influence children's lifestyle and habits? Magnus Scheving from Iceland will demonstrate how TV can be used to promote a healthy lifestyle for children. Scheving produces a TV programme that has attracted considerable attention in many countries, including the USA, Germany, Canada and Sweden. For the up-to-date programme, please see www.ehealth2005.no Accreditation To help journalists from all over Europe in the best possible way, we need to know how many journalists are coming to Tromsø. For this reason, please register electronically and request accreditation using our Web page, www.ehealth2005.no, under the "Press" menu by 15 May. Please direct your inquires to: Ms. Hilde Petersen, phone no. +4799103794