Policy and Strategy for Interoperability of Digital Health in Europe

Abstract

The development of electronic services for healthcare presents challenges related to the effective cooperation of systems and stakeholders in a highly regulated environment. In order to facilitate healthcare for all at the point of need it is important to establish the necessary conditions to guide the development and implementation of digital health solutions that are interoperable by design. Interoperability in eHealth is challenging for various reasons, including the fact that different products and solutions in the market do not follow well-known standards and interoperability guidelines. The paper draws upon the global, European and national policies, strategies, and implementation initiatives to offer an integrated approach towards interoperability in healthcare ecosystems. The authors provide guidelines and recommendations to support interoperability at legal, organizational, semantic, and technical levels.