The workshop in “e-health in Neurosciences” aims at bringing together prominent researchers in this field creating a place to exchange the latest research achievements and experiences. The ongoing inclusion of new technologies such as virtual reality, wearable sensors and actuators, brain-computer interfaces, biosensors, etc., have to be accompanied by a high level debate by the scientific community and society.

The progressive evolution of eHealth Information System requirements

Technological developments in computing and networking have largely made the delivery of health services, including medical diagnosis and patient care, possible from a distance. Many funded projects have evaluated and are evaluating the use of communications technology in the implementation and performance of telemedicine activities, and examined the impact of telemedicine on medical care in terms of cost, quality, and access. Telemedicine has become a growing new interdisciplinary field, which will eventually contribute to improving the quality of health care for everyone. However, successful implementation of this vision depends not only on innovative telemedicine applications but also on networking and computing technical readiness. Furthermore, many ethical, social, and political problems arising in telemedicine need technical solutions.

Information security and privacy in the healthcare domain is a complex and challenging problem for computer scientists, social scientists, law experts and policy makers. Appropriate healthcare provision requires specialized knowledge, is information intensive and much patient information is of a particularly sensitive nature. Electronic health record systems provide opportunities for information sharing which may enhance healthcare services, for both individuals and populations. However, appropriate information management measures are essential for privacy preservation.

Traditional access control measures for privacy preservation may not match the eHealth record system scenario, where the roles of all stakeholders are less defined. Questions regarding data ownership and information management obligations for major stakeholders (healthcare professionals, patients, administrators) arise. Healthcare professionals require ready access to as much information as possible to support informed decision making. However, patients may want to exercise control over the entities gaining access to their personal health information, with particular concerns for information privacy. Balancing these competing concerns is a major challenge in the implementation of successful e-Health systems. This is not just a technological challenge, but a multidisciplinary problem with technological, social, legal and health policy aspects.

This workshop will focus on this major challenge in terms of these four main areas. We seek papers addressing the technological, socio-technical, legal and policy aspects related to information security and privacy issues in e-Health systems.