Building better national health systems with a new ISO roadmap

From responding to major disease outbreaks, to everyday medical treatment, having the right information in the right place at the right time is vital for any national health system. Now health organizations around the globe can improve the management of their information - and in turn their nations' health - with ISO's new set of guidance documents for health informatics.

Global health scares and disease epidemics have shone a glaring light on the ability of countries to manage their nation's health. But even the most minor treatment relies on having robust information systems in place. ISO has published a new set of guidance documents designed to help strengthen national Health Information Systems, with best-practice procedures to ensure the right information is always at hand.

Developed by standards experts from all over the world, ISO/TR 14639: Health informatics - capacity-based eHealth architecture roadmap provides best practice guidance on the implementation and use of information and communications technology, and a framework for health authorities to use when building their own eHealth architectures.

This technical report was developed primarily to assist low and middle income countries, but health systems from more developed countries can also benefit from the expert advice on the different components of a robust eHealth system.

International organizations such as the International Medical Informatics Association and the Asia eHealth Information Network have already made plans to distribute the report to their developing country members.

Article Reference: ISOorg