The European Commission issued on 30th June 2009 an explanatory document that includes details of the extensive consultation process which led to the 'Communication on telemedicine for the benefit of patients, healthcare systems and society' adopted on 4th November 2008.
The telemedicine communication proposed a set of actions aimed at enabling wider deployment of telemedicine services, focusing on three main priorities:
· building confidence and acceptance of telemedicine services,
· bringing legal clarity, and
· facilitating market development