The term "e-health" covers a wide range of tools based on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) aimed at improving prevention, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring and management of health and lifestyle.
Electronic health (e-Health) includes online collaboration between patients and health service providers, the exchange of data between different health organizations and communication between patients or health providers. It also includes networks of health information, electronic health records, telemedicine services, systems for monitoring and supporting patients.
The European Union is promoting a "European e-Health Area ", while coordinating different actions and facilitates synergies between related policies and stakeholders in order to find better solutions and to spread best practices between Member States. EU specific objectives are to create an electronic health record system, information sharing and standardization, as well as electronic prescription (ePrescription) etc.
In Cyprus, e-Health activities are at the very early stages. The Ministry of Health has started taking advantage of e- health standardization processes (to create infrastructure for electronic health records) at 2 large hospitals (Nicosia General Hospital and Famagusta General Hospital), as well as, the effective management of electronic materials and electronic prescription. Ministry of Health began to implement various projects that contribute to a better approach to cross-border healthcare. Some of the most important projects are the following:
(a) The development of an Integrated Health Information System, which consists of 13 subsystems that have to do with the running procedures of hospitals, such as electronic patient record, patient billing, managing e-prescription, laboratory tests, etc. The Integrated Health Information System is supposed to cover the key elements of hospital activities, to control both the quality provided to patients as well as to control the costs related to care provided. The Integrated Health Information System operates in Nicosia General Hospital and Famagusta General Hospital and some of the Health Centers in the two districts.
(b) Drugs Information management system. This system operates in all hospitals, pharmaceutical stores and many health centers.
The future goals of Ministry of Health are:
(a) The creation of Regional Health Networks (RHN) to exchange information in real time between all hospitals, Health Centers, regional clinics and private doctors. The RHN will enable healthcare providers to have access to the right information, any time they want for better and higher quality medical care.
(b) Regional Health Networks will offer: direct access to
•direct access to the prescription and the results of laboratory tests
• direct transfer of information to and for each patient
• appointments
• single medical record
• telemedicine, telecare and telemonitoring and ambient assisted living ( AAL)
• clinical protocols and treatment guidelines patients
• administrative and management systems