Accomplishing EHR/HIE (eHealth): Lessons from Europe

Author:

Dr. Harald Deutsch, Fran Turisco

Health reform, a top priority for the Obama administration, requires EHR and HIE technology solutions to be successful. The recently enacted Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act is re-invigorating discussion activities surrounding state and regional eHealth efforts by addressing a number of the current obstacles - interoperability, privacy and sustainability.

Understanding the risks and issues from similar efforts can help the U.S. to avoid making the same mistakes. Fortunately, comparable efforts do exist. Our first-hand experience in Europe (Denmark, the Netherlands, and three regions in the UK) has enabled us to identify major decision points, best (exemplary) practices, and lessons learned that are transferrable to U.S. projects. While the size of the European efforts is far smaller than the U.S., they are comparable to our state efforts and often have encountered many of the same issues under discussion at the national level.

Download "Accomplishing ERH/HIE: Lessons from Europe" (PDF, 454KB)

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