Report of the WHO Global Observatory for eHealthThe Global Observatory for eHealth (GOe) was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2005. As its initial task it carried out the first global survey on eHealth. The survey covered seven key themes in the eHealth domain and one of these is the subject of this report.
At its Fifty-eighth Session in May 2005, the World Health Assembly (WHA) adopted resolution WHA58.28 establishing an eHealth Strategy for the World Health Organization. The resolution urged Member States to plan for appropriate eHealth services in their countries. It also recognized that a WHO eHealth strategy would serve as a basis for WHO's activities in eHealth and requested the Director-General to submit to the 117th Session of the Executive Board (EB) an action plan, including budgetary implications, aimed at the use of eHealth tools and services for implementation by Member States.
eHealth, the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for health, is one of the most rapidly growing areas in health today. However, limited systematic research has been carried out to inform eHealth policy and practice. It is for this reason that WHO, through its newly created Global Observatory for eHealth (GOe), undertook a world-wide survey on eHealth. The findings provide an important first measure of eHealth capacity in Member States as well as their current and most important needs. With this global picture, these data will be used for comparison with those of further studies. They will also help WHO tailor its support and guidance to match the immediate needs of its Member States in the area of eHealth.
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WHO Global Observatory for eHealth (GOe)
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