e-Health projects – European experience

Abstract:

Today, e-Health is an essential part of most health care reforms, be it at regional, national or cross-border levels of health care provision. It is one of the fastest growing markets in the domain of information and communication technologies, with a current estimated compound annual growth rate of 6% in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The Republic of Croatia is no exception in this case. E-Health implementations have been in sharp focus for the last 5-10 years and some significant achievements have been accomplished in that period. However, e-Health projects have not been easy to carry out, and the experience from their implementation varies significantly, both in the region and beyond. In that respect, interoperability of the implemented solutions and clear and unambiguous metrics of key performance indicators make the basis of any successful e-Health project. 

Key words:
Croatia; electronic health record; European Union; health care reform; medical informatics; reference standards; technology