Shared Healthcare in a Regional E-Health Network

Abstract

Healthcare information exchange is transforming the practice and structure of healthcare delivery. This chapter introduces the building of a regional e-health network between public healthcare providers as well as the necessary legal foundation and governance for this successful deployment in a Finnish Hospital District. An overview is presented of prerequisite building blocks, such as policies supporting the knowledge-intensive e-health services and the creation of a partnership between shareholders enabling regional e-health delivery. The roadmap to a national e-health network is paved on the premises of these experiences and lessons learned are transferred to described concepts when migrating to a national e-health network. Understanding these principles and critical success factors (i.e., the role of stakeholders, governance, and financing) is essential for guidance to implement viable cross-organizational information exchange. In this context ICT not only fulfills the objective of cost containment, but also creates positive impacts on patient care and service quality.