BARCELONA, SPAIN - (HealthTech Wire / News) - Implementing eHealth solutions on a large scale requires dedicated leadership and close cooperation between all stakeholders. At the European eHealth Conference / World of Health IT Conference & Exhibition, examples of successful eHealth governance were discussed – on a regional, national as well as European level.
Joan Guanyabens, coordinator of health IT at the Catalan department of health, argued for what he called a “middle-out” approach as the best strategy for governing eHealth projects on a regional scale. “Middle-out means neither top-down nor bottom-up but using the best of both,” Guanyabens said. The central element of a middle-out strategy, he explained, was having a common vision and a leadership team recognized by all of the stakeholders.
The role of the regional government was both to organize collaboration among stakeholders and ensure the implementation of a solid, secure and interoperable infrastructure without making too many specifications for actual applications. With this governance strategy, Catalonia – like other Spanish regions – has been remarkably successful in implementing eHealth applications on a large scale in recent years. “We have focused on a regional shared medical record, a medical image depository, electronic prescribing, telemedicine and a personal health folder for patient access to data,” said Guanyabens, summarizing what is now already available in Catalonia.
Karin Johansson, State Secretary of the Swedish ministry of health, highlighted the importance of a proper evidence base to the success of eHealth projects. “Other success factors include strong team leadership, continuous follow-up of projects and a clear division of tasks.” In Sweden, where a national patient summary is currently being implemented, annual progress reports provide all stakeholders with up-to-date information. Data on the benefits of every single application and, just as importantly, on the costs of not implementing applications such as electronic medical records or electronic prescribing, is provided.
What can Europe as a whole learn from the Catalan and Swedish experiences when it comes to eHealth governance? Johansson pointed to the European eHealth Governance Initiative as an important step towards improving eHealth governance across Europe. In Barcelona, secretaries of state and director generals of the national ministries of health meet for the third time in just one year. “This closer cooperation is the foundation for a new kind of governance that both bridges the gap between experts and political decision-makers and helps to coordinate eHealth governance at EU level,” Johansson concluded.
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