Promoting better integration of health information systems: best practices and challenges

ABSTRACT

This report addresses the current trends in Member States of the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association in how to promote better integration of health information systems. To understand what better integration means from a pragmatic perspective, experts from 13 EU Member States were interviewed and the results combined with the findings from a literature search. This synthesis report identifies the following policy options for further consideration, namely the needs to continue the work on some basics (such as data availability and quality, inventories of data and registries, standardization, legislation, physical infrastructure and workforce capacities) and on more “concept-driven” indicator sets; to define what better integration means and to demonstrate concrete benefits of integration; to build leadership for capacity-building in further integration of health information systems; and to pursue further international exchange about activities under way in this area.