An EU initiative for implementing Regional Health Care Networks has been developed. CoCo has produced Regional Health Care Networks in Europe and references for the required knowledge and materials. CoCo: - established networks for co-ordination and continuity of care, - encouraged organizational change for efficient service provision, - contributed to a less fragmented European telematics market through standardization. These goals were achieved by: - establishing electronic links between healthcare professionals, - using structured messages and multimedia communication to ensure re-use of data in different systems, - building on European standards and existing infrastructure and systems in the regions. Networks and information: - regional healthcare networks have been established in 26 pilots in 8 European countries and in one Canadian province, - some regions focused on reengineering business processes, - data were communicated between General Practitioners' electronic healthcare records, laboratory systems, hospitals' patient administration systems, pharmacy systems, municipalities' home care systems, radiology systems, and many more... CoCo developed tools and methods for implementing Regional Health Care Networks: - standards, Implementation Guidelines, - computer tools for message development and testing, - guidelines for Business Process Reengineering (BPR) with special focus on implementing electronic links, - tool kits for validation and evaluation of electronic healthcare networks, - educational material for standards implementation and BPR, - Applications and modules (i.e. GP's records) with communication capabilities.