Commission proposes action programme on health monitoring
The European Commission has published a proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision adopting a programme of Community action on health monitoring. The proposed programme, to be adopted within the framework for action in the field of public health, will cover the period from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2001 and should benefit from a budget of ECU 13.8 million. The aim of the programme is to establish a Community health monitoring system which allows the measuring of health status, trends and determinants throughout the Community, facilitates the planning, monitoring and evaluation of Community programmes and actions, and provides Member States with appropriate health information to make comparisons and to support their national health policies. The actions to be implemented under this programme are presented under three headings: - Establishment of Community health indicators: The aim is to establish Community health indicators by a critical review of existing health data and indicators and develop appropriate methods for the collection of comparable and progressively harmonized data; - Development of a Community-wide network for sharing health data: The aim is to enable the establishment of effective and reliable transfer and sharing of health data and indicators using telematic interchange of data as the principle means; - Analyses and reporting: The aim is to develop methods and tools necessary for analysis and reporting, and support analyses and reporting on health status, trends, determinants and the effect of policies on health. The programme will foster cooperation with international organizations competent in the field of public health, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It will be open to participation by the associated countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and by Cyprus and Malta.