The Increasing Population Movements in the 21st Century: A Call for the E-Register of Health-Related Data Integrating Health Care Systems in Europe.

Abstract

The escalating mass influx of people to Europe in the 21st century due to geopolitical and economic reasons as well as food crises ignites significant challenges for national health care services. The lack or disruption of cross-border, e-transferred, health-related data negatively affects the health outcome and continuous care, particularly in medically compromised individuals with an unsettled status. Proposal: The urgent need of a structured database, in the form of a health-related data register funded by the European Union that allows a swift exchange of crucial medical data, was discussed to flag ever-increasing migrants' health problems, with a primary aim to support an adequate health care provision for underserved people who are at risk of deteriorating health. The data security information technology aspects, with a proposed and drafted structure of an e-health register, were succinctly highlighted. Conclusions: Focusing on long-term benefits and considering future waves of mass relocation, an investment in a health-related data register in Europe could vastly reduce health care disparities between minority groups and improve epidemiological situations with regard to major illnesses, including common, communicable diseases as well as oncological and infectious conditions. Commissioners, policymakers, and stakeholders are urged to continue a collective action to ensure vulnerable people can access health services by responding to the ongoing global migration crisis.