A national study of eHealth standardization in Finland--goals and recommendations

The role of standards is constantly increasing in health services, electronic health records, and eHealth applications. There are many areas of standardization which affect the healthcare work and health information systems. On a national level, the organization of the development and support for standardization should be a key priority. This paper summarizes a national study in Finland which reviewed the current status of eHealth standardization and made recommendations for the national standardization and the use of standards. The recommendations are related to the organization model and balanced participation, international and cross-domain collaboration and quality assurance of standards-related activities. In addition, education and support services and support for introductions and pilots are recommended to improve the know-how of standards in system acquisitions.