Conference Announcement

3rd Nordic Congress on Telemedicine: The Nordic Experience and Beyond

Copenhagen, Denmark, 13-16 September, 2000



The Nordic Telemedicine Association representing Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden is organizing the 3rd Nordic Congress on Telemedicine. The meeting is supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Copenhagen University Hospital.

Telemedicine in the Nordic countries

Telemedicine is rapidly gaining a strong foothold in the Nordic countries. The first Nordic Telemedicine Congress was held in Finland in 1996, the second in Iceland in 1998 and the third will be in Copenhagen in 2000. In addition, there have been a number of national and international conferences. Centres of Excellence are established and more are planned in some of the seven Nordic countries, not only to provide services but also to assess the implications, benefits, and unexpected consequences of telemedicine. These countries will share experiences with respect to medical use, health promotion and education, appropriate technologies, societal implications and the economy. The main focus of the Copenhagen Congress will be on Nordic projects and Nordic activities involving other parts of the world. It is not by chance that developments have been rapid. Telemedicine offers means to reconcile the political wish to provide access to care at appropriate levels for all citizens, to promote health and secure continuous medical education with the fact that vast geographical areas have extreme climatic conditions and are sparsely populated with poor access to medical and social care. Many of the countries prosper from merchant fleets with crews that must also be looked after. In addition, the opportunities to use telemedicine in more densely populated parts is becoming increasingly evident. The Nordic countries have prioritised the establishment of the necessary infrastructures and promoted the technological developments in telemedicine to accommodate the health needs and they also have the will to learn from past experiences. This knowledge has been shared with the rest of the world in Europe, Africa, the Americas, Asia and Australia.

Focus areas

  • The Nordic countries’ fast-growing range of telemedicine applications
  • The Nordic collaboration with the rest of the world
  • Assessment of the societal aspects
  • Introduction to new emerging technologies
  • Appropriate health care applications

Programme themes (subject to amendments)

  • Overview of Nordic Telemedicine
  • Successes and Failures - Lessons to be Learned
  • Internet/Intranet Use within Health Care
  • Sparsely Populated Areas, Including the Arctic
  • Telemedicine in Larger Cities
  • Assessment of Telemedicine
  • Nordic Joint Projects
  • International Trends in Technology and its Medical Use
  • Nordic Telemedicine to the Third World Countries
  • Home Care
  • Industrial Q/A Session
  • Evening: Demonstration in Sweden
  • Long-Term Telemedicine
  • Emerging Technologies
  • Integration of Telemedicine and Health IT
  • PACS and Teleradiology
  • Emergency/Maritime and Mobile Units
  • Teaching and Training

Call For Abstracts Deadline: May 1st, 2000

Medical staff, technicians, scientists and others with interests in telemedicine are invited to submit abstracts. The abstracts should fall within the topics of the programme. Preference will be given to Nordic presentations and/or presentations relating to Nordic experiences in other parts of the world.

Each submitted abstract will be peer-reviewed by the Scientific Committee, which will be responsible for the acceptance decision and the form of the presentation (oral presentation (10 minutes) or poster presentation).

For more information, please contact:

Copenhagen University Hospital
Clinical Imaging, Informatics and Engineering Section 41-2-2,
Blegdamsvej 9
DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark

Tel: +45 35 45 22 25
Fax +45 35 45 22 64

Email:dahms@rh.dk
Website:http://www.telemedicine.dk/