eHealth strategy

In health systems, information and communication technologies are being used to improve the timeliness and accuracy of public health reporting and to facilitate disease monitoring and surveillance. They are fundamental in distance learning, and in enabling rapid response in emergencies. Furthermore, the strategic use of eHealth can support sector-wide planning as well as coordinating decentralized district health systems, and improving the ability to plan, budget and deliver services.

eHealth strategy goal

• A national eHealth vision that responds to health and development goals: develops a national eHealth vision that responds to health and development goals. It explains why a national approach to eHealth is needed, what a national eHealth plan will need to achieve, and how it will be done.
• A national eHealth action plan that reflects country priorities: lays out an eHealth action plan that reflects country priorities and the eHealth context. It structures activities over the medium term, while building a foundation for the long term.
• A plan to monitor implementation and manage associated risks: stablishes a plan to monitor implementation and manage associated risks. It shows the progress and the results of implementation and helps in securing long-term support and investment.

Each of these three sections describes the activities required, along with practical advice informed by real-world experience. Countries can undertake the entire set of activities, or those specific to their contexts and constraints. How the Toolkit is used, and the end result, will depend on these factors and on each country’s priorities and vision.

Countries can focus on a range of structured activities that lead to the progressive development of a national eHealth strategy. These include:

• involving the key health and non-health stakeholders in creating a national eHealth vision and plan and its subsequent implementation.
• establishing governance mechanisms to provide improved visibility, coordination and control of eHealth activities that are occurring across the country’s health sector.
• establishing the strategic context for eHealth to provide the foundation for the eHealth vision and plan, and to enable the government to make informed decisions on whether to pursue opportunities that present themselves from the ICT industry and other stakeholders.
• forming an understanding of the current eHealth environment in terms of the programmes, projects and eHealth components that already exist.
• the Toolkit also identifies the short-, medium- and long-term goals for countries, recognizing the importance of demonstrating outcomes and benefits throughout the process of national strategy implementation, and to build and maintain momentum and support for eHealth; and thereby improve the health of their populations.
• Finally, while it is aimed at a specialized, professional readership, the Toolkit’s approach keeps the general public firmly in mind, recognizing that it is the public who will be the ultimate beneficiaries of eHealth in their country.

Resource: World health organization (WHO)