WONCA Policy on eHealth

WONCA has launched its new policy statement on eHealth developed by the WONCA Working Party on eHealth

The new WONCA Policy Statement on eHealth calls for information technology that supports the family doctor in providing patient-centered care that has high quality and is safe. Patients should have access to their records and control over who can access their data, and they should be able to enter data into personal health records which they can share with their care providers. Information technology should support patients’ self-management, shared decision-making and easy communication with their care providers. One patient should have one record across all levels of health care that contains essential data about their problems, medications, procedures, measurements, and test results, as well as a care plan, all in coded format. The family doctor should have tools that allow care coordination of the individual, as well as the care of the whole population by identifying people that would benefit most from appropriate care. Secondary use of the data is encouraged for the creation of new knowledge and for quality improvement. Governments are responsible for ensuring interoperability of all health data and making continuously updated medical knowledge available for family doctors and patients.

The policy statement was developed during two years by members of the WONCA Working Party on eHealth and EQuiP delegates. A workshop was arranged during the WONCA Europe Conference in Copenhagen where Danish patients commented on what kinds of eHealth services they would benefit from and how family doctors could collaborate with their patients in developing those services.

Ilkka Kunnamo
Chair, WONCA Working Party on eHealth

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