Electronic Health Records, Semantic Interoperability and Politics

Abstract

An opinion paper exploring links between sustainable health systems, electronic health records, semantic interoperability, standards and national e-health strategies. It provides a rationale for why there needs to be a paradigm shift in thinking and explains the need for adopting a set of technical standards and establishing a supporting national infrastructure. It is argued that only then can Governments expect to be able to successfully implement health reform to meet their future vision and achieve a sustainable health system.