European Union Working Group

Mario Romao - Chair

EMEA Digital Health Policy Manager, Intel

Mario Romao is the Digital Health Policy Manager for Europe in Intel's Global Public Policy Team. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Mario works with the European Union institutions and European governments on policies to promote the adoption of health information technologies to address some of the current challenges European healthcare systems are facing. He also works on information and communication technology (ICT) policies in support of citizen's full participation in the information society, regardless of individual, economic or social disadvantages.

Mario has extensive experience working with eHealth policies and technologies. He has been involved in the deployment of European initiatives in the field of health care technologies and solutions for people with special needs, including a focus on the elderly population. He participates actively in numerous groups and associations promoting the advancement of ICT for health.

Petra Wilson - Secretary General

Cisco Systems

Petra Wilson is senior director of the European Health and Care team in Cisco's Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG). Her work focuses on helping health and care providers develop their strategies for making good use of communication and collaboration technology to demands of care provision for an ageing society, where patients' needs become wider and demands on health and care providers straddle many of the established silos of care organization.

Previously, she was deputy director of the European Health Management Association (EHMA), a membership organization committed to improving healthcare in Europe by raising standards of managerial performance in the health sector. At EHMA she had responsibility for the association's Brussels' office and, in particular, EHMA's relationship with the European Commission. In that role, Petra advised a wide number of European healthcare organisations on EU-level health policy and assisted them in engaging with policy-makers in the Commission.

Prior to EHMA, Petra worked for the European Commission in its eHealth Directorate. She worked specifically on the European eHealth Action Plan, which commits all member states of the European Union to adopt road maps for the implementation of Connected Health solutions. Petra also advised the Commission on legal and ethical issues surrounding use of information technologies in healthcare.

Alongside her role at Cisco, Petra holds several positions with eHealth interest groups. She acts as secretary general for the European branch of Continua Health Alliance and is also co-lead of its European Policy Working Group. Petra is also active with the Health Information Management and Systems Society, where she serves as a member of the European Governing Council. She also acts as an advisor to the Health on the Net Foundation.

Originally trained in law, Petra spent several years as a lecturer and Senior Research Fellow at Nottingham University, UK, specializing in healthcare law and European law. She has a Ph.D. in public health law from Oxford University, and has published widely on the legal aspects of using information technologies in healthcare. Originally from the UK, she is fluent in English, German, and French.