Advanced ICTs are a major opportunity to realise integration across social care and healthcare and involving third-sector organisations, superseding today’s chain of disjoint responses to discrete threats to health. Much remains yet to be learned how integrated eCare can be made a reality. At the same time, first real-life examples are emerging across Europe, providing useful lessons for all stakeholders working in the field.

“Beyond Silos” wants to bring the topic of integrated eCare forward in Europe and internationally. The Beyond Silos activities comprise regularly conducted conferences as well as this online forum to facilitate the networking between interested stakeholders and to spread the knowledge that is available so far. The forum facilitates the exchange of experiences among healthcare service providers & professionals, eCare service providers, the IT industry, policy makers and public administration as well as researchers. Patients, clients and informal carers will also find valuable information on the forum website. Use cases showcase examples of ICT-enabled integrated care provision, complemented by information on existing policy frameworks, and practices in Europe.

The Beyond Silos activities were initiated by two European projects namely CommonWell (www.commonwell.eu) and INDEPENDENT (www.independent-project.eu). Both projects pilot services for integrated eCare at ten sites all over Europe. One of the first activities initiated under the umbrella of “Beyond Silos” was the European conference on integrated eCare that took place in Eindhoven in 2011 and brought together researchers, policy makers and practitioners.

The Forum is currently accessible by invitation only. If you are interested please contact us...