The eCAN JA, a key initiative in eHealth for Cancer Care in Europe, involves key partners working in public health institutes, universities, hospitals, cancer centres and patient associations across Europe. Over the course of this two-year project coordinated by Sciensano, the consortium will explore the impact of teleconsultation and telemonitoring by conducting multi-centric pilots in different populations of cancer patients.

Project description

eCAN seeks to bring the benefits of eHealth to cancer patients in Europe, particularly those in remote and rural areas. It will investigate the role and impact of telemedicine and remote monitoring in cancer care in the EU with the goal of increasing their use and reducing inequalities.

Telemedicine is a relatively new eHealth approach that offers a variety of advantages, including:

• More efficient use of healthcare resources
• Greater access to care
• Lower risk of infectious agent transmission

As telemedicine becomes more popular, the associated challenges become clear. These include issues with service misuse and patient data security. Telemedicine has also revealed significant differences across Europe in terms of timely cancer diagnosis and chance of survival due to disparities in preventive policies and access to cutting-edge diagnostics, treatment, and experienced care.

This highlights the need to harmonize telemedicine regulations and to explore the efficacy of teleconsultation programs and telemonitoring in the cancer field.

The eCAN aims to address these needs by providing a framework of recommendations for the integration of telemedicine and remote monitoring in health care systems.

Its primary goals are to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of cancer prevention and care across the European Union, especially for cross-border emergencies and health crises like COVID-19.