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Focus: eHealth; Primary health care

Duration: January 2012 – March 2014

Geographical area: Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden

Summary: Counteracting braindrain and professional isolation of health professionals in remote primary health care through tele-consultation and tele-mentoring to strengthen social conditions in remote BSR.

The Baltic Sea Region is confronted with an ageing population, which leads to a rising demand for primary health care services. Moreover, an increasing lack of health workers and medical doctors challenges the maintenance of primary health care services within the region. Above all the brain drain of health professionals is affecting particularly remote areas in the whole BSR. There is evidence that professional isolation is a leading cause for this brain drain. A better deployment of tele-consultation and tele-mentoring has strong potential to reduce professional isolation and to provide opportunities for professional networking, continuing medical education and career development for younger and experienced doctors and health workers in remote areas.

The project partners analyze existing barriers for large scale deployment of teleconsultation and tele-mentoring such as technology acceptance, work flows, daily routines or legal uncertainties. The elaborate on strategic opportunities for better use of such tele-health to overcome brain drain of health care professionals in remote primary care. They implement jointly developed tele-consultation and tele-mentoring solutions between health workers, general practitioners and medical specialists in pilot sites, preparing the large scale implementation.

The partnership involves health workers, medical doctors associations, and hospitals, planning and financing authorities, regional development administrations, and eHealth research organisations. Thus, the consortium represents the relevant sectors in the implementing regions for successful goal achievement.