The Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine (NST), www.telemed.no is a national competence centre for telemedicine research and development activity. NST opened officially in 1993 as a department linked to the University Hospital of North Norway, where telemedicine and e-health services have been in daily use since the 1980s. In 2002 the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine as its first Collaborating Centre for Telemedicine.
The NST is a multidisciplinary organization with 100 employees comprising 32 technologists (1 ass. prof., 4 PhD stud., 20 research scientists), 16 social scientists (1 ass. prof., 1 postdoc, 7 PhD stud), 16 health care professionals (3 MDs), 7 educationalists, 4 economists, 2 legal advisers and some administrative staff.
At present the NST conducts research and development projects that contribute to an understanding of ICT-based health-care services, as a means of promoting equitable treatment for all users and fulfilment of their legal rights to health care. The NST cooperates with trade and industry in the development of new products.
The NST also focuses its research on the primary and specialist health service in Norway, helping to de-velop efficient telemedicine services and to apply telemedicine in clinical services. The centre gathers, pro-duces and disseminates information about telemedicine nationally and internationally.
NST
Tove Sorensen, Cand.polit, (born 1963) is head of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Telemedicine, Norway. She is co-ordinating EU proposals and other projects within the Norwegian Center for Telemedicine (NST). She is the project manager for European eHealth Consumer Trends Survey (2005-2008) as well as of an international review study of evaluation methods in telemedicine / eHealth (1990-2005). She has been working in the field of international relations at the Norwegian Centre for Telemedi-cine since 1997. Among other tasks, she has participated in various projects: "Telemedicine in Northwest Russia", TELEREMCARE (Northern Periphery Programme), Arctic Telemedicine Project, She has been organizing international telemedicine seminars and training courses. Sorensen holds a six years university degree in Social Sciences with Computer Sciences as the second subject and teacher diploma. Her thesis (1996) discussed human and electronical networks in international women's organisations.
