This third global survey of the WHO Global Observatory for eHealth (GOe) investigated how eHealth can support universal health coverage(UHC) in Member States. A total of 125 countries participated in the survey ? a clear reflection of the growing interest in this area. The report considers eHealth foundations built through policy development funding approaches and capacity building in eHealth through the training of students and professionals. It then observes specific eHealth applications such as mHealth telehealth electronic health records systems and eLearning and how these contribute to the goals of UHC. Of interest is the extent to which legal frameworks protect patient privacy in EHRs as health care systems move towards to delivering safer more efficient and more accessible health care. Finally the rapidly emerging areas of social media for health care as well as big data for research and planning are reported.

The third global survey on eHealth conducted by the WHO Global Observatory for eHealth (GOe)1 has a special focus - the use of eHealth in support of universal health coverage. eHealth plays a vital role in promoting universal health coverage in a variety of ways. For instance it helps provide services to remote populations and underserved communities through telehealth or mHealth. It facilitates the training of the health workforce through the use of eLearning and makes education more widely accessible especially for those who are isolated. It enhances diagnosis and treatment by providing accurate and timely patient information through electronic health records. And through the strategic use of ICT it improves the operations and financial efficiency of health care systems. This Atlas presents data collected on 125 WHO Member States. The survey was undertaken by the WHO Global Observatory for eHealth between April and August 2015 and represents the most current information on the use of eHealth in these countries.

This book focuses on the different aspects of handling big data in healthcare. It showcases the current state-of-the-art technology used for storing health records and health data models. It also focuses on the research challenges in big data acquisition, storage, management and analysis.