Commission Recommendation on Cross-Border Interoperability of Electronic Health Record Systems

Article of the Month!

Commission Recommendation on Cross-Border Interoperability of Electronic Health Record SystemsThe Commission Recommendation on cross-border interoperability of electronic health record systems (hereinafter referred to as 'the Recommendation') has been drafted as a follow-up to the Community eHealth Action Plan which, in 2004, defined interoperability of electronic health records as one of the priorities for Member States in the roadmap annexed to the Action Plan.

The Recommendation is intended to support the premise that connecting people, systems and services is vital for the provision of good healthcare in Europe insofar as it is necessary to enable the free flow of patients as well as eHealth products and services, and hence may contribute significantly to the establishment and functioning of the internal market.

Recent developments in information and communications technology (ICT) systems and services in different Member States have resulted in a proliferation of incompatible ICT formats and standards in healthcare institutions. The resulting lack of interoperability (the ability to 'talk to each other') between health ICT systems in different regions and Member States causes problems for travelling persons and the health professionals who might treat them.

This lack of interoperability is a particular issue for the use of electronic health record systems (EHR systems), which are used to collect digital information about an individual's medical treatments over a certain period of time, perhaps even a lifetime. Fully interoperable EHR systems should make access to patients' information easier, as well as enhance the quality and safety of patient care throughout the Community by providing patients and health professionals with relevant and up-to-date information while ensuring protection of personal data and confidentiality.

When systems become more interoperable, the need for building safeguards against abuse grows as well. Health records are among the most sensitive records available containing information concerning an individual. The unauthorised disclosure of a medical condition or diagnosis could negatively impact an individual's personal and professional life. Maintaining health records in an electronic form increases the risk that patients’ information could be accidentally exposed or easily distributed to unauthorised parties.

Download Commission Recommendation on Cross-Border Interoperability of Electronic Health Record Systems (.pdf, 91 KB).

Download from the eHealthNews.EU Portal's mirror: Commission Recommendation on Cross-Border Interoperability of Electronic Health Record Systems (.pdf, 91 KB).

Related publication:

For further information:
ICT for Health
European Commission - Information society and Media DG
Office: BU31 06/73 B-1049 Brussels
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel: +32 2 296 41 94
Fax: +32 2 296 01 81
http://europa.eu/information_society/eHealth

Most Popular Now

Philips Foundation 2024 Annual Report: E…

Marking its tenth anniversary, Philips Foundation released its 2024 Annual Report, highlighting a year in which the Philips Foundation helped provide access to quality healthcare for 46.5 million people around...

New AI Transforms Radiology with Speed, …

A first-of-its-kind generative AI system, developed in-house at Northwestern Medicine, is revolutionizing radiology - boosting productivity, identifying life-threatening conditions in milliseconds and offering a breakthrough solution to the global radiologist...

Scientists Argue for More FDA Oversight …

An agile, transparent, and ethics-driven oversight system is needed for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to balance innovation with patient safety when it comes to artificial intelligence-driven medical...

New Research Finds Specific Learning Str…

If data used to train artificial intelligence models for medical applications, such as hospitals across the Greater Toronto Area, differs from the real-world data, it could lead to patient harm...

Giving Doctors an AI-Powered Head Start …

Detection of melanoma and a range of other skin diseases will be faster and more accurate with a new artificial intelligence (AI) powered tool that analyses multiple imaging types simultaneously...

AI Agents for Oncology

Clinical decision-making in oncology is challenging and requires the analysis of various data types - from medical imaging and genetic information to patient records and treatment guidelines. To effectively support...

Patients say "Yes..ish" to the…

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to be integrated in healthcare, a new multinational study involving Aarhus University sheds light on how dental patients really feel about its growing role in...

Brains vs. Bytes: Study Compares Diagnos…

A University of Maine study compared how well artificial intelligence (AI) models and human clinicians handled complex or sensitive medical cases. The study published in the Journal of Health Organization...

'AI Scientist' Suggests Combin…

An 'AI scientist', working in collaboration with human scientists, has found that combinations of cheap and safe drugs - used to treat conditions such as high cholesterol and alcohol dependence...

Start-ups in the Spotlight at MEDICA 202…

17 - 20 November 2025, Düsseldorf, Germany. MEDICA, the leading international trade fair and platform for healthcare innovations, will once again confirm its position as the world's number one hotspot for...