eHealth has the potential to improve the quality and increase the accessibility and the efficiency of the health and care services, in particular to remote populations and underserved communities. For eHealth services to be successful, they have to be supported by national governments, who have established eHealth policies and strategies and demonstrate strong ownership of their national eHealth programmes. eHealth programmes will only achieve their objectives, if they are adapted to country needs, are citizen-centered and sustainable through sound public finance management.
The successful deployment of eHealth solutions is of paramount importance to society in Low and Lower Middle Income Countries for several reasons. Primarily, it directly impacts healthcare accessibility, especially in underserved regions. By leveraging technology, eHealth can bridge the gaps in healthcare delivery, improve disease management, enhance patient care, and contribute to disease prevention and control. It has the potential to make healthcare services more efficient, cost-effective, and widely accessible, ensuring that even the most vulnerable populations receive quality care. Moreover, it can stimulate economic growth, create jobs, and foster collaboration between different sectors, thereby contributing to the overall socio-economic development of these nations.
The project’s objective was to inform eHealth policymaking towards better health outcomes through a bottom-up evidence-based holistic approach that is addressing the three aspects related to successful eHealth: human, technical and public policy factors.
BETTEReHEALTH has also created registries of eHealth solutions and policies that can be used to identify best-practices and produce useful knowledge regarding eHealth implementation. The knowledge produced in registries, together with the input from the other activities of the project has been synthesized into an eHealth policy roadmaps and has led to strategic implementation plans for better eHealth services for the four countries hosting Regional Hubs, but is also of high relevance for other African countries.
Through the projects activities, BETTEReHEALTH increased the level of international cooperation in eHealth, informed and strengthened end-user communities and policy makers in making the right decisions for the successful implementation of eHealth, and increased the opportunities for stakeholders in Africa and Europe.
