A patient centered electronic health: eHealth system development.

Background: Medical practice and patient-doctor relationship will continue improving while technology is integrated in our everyday life. In recent years the term eHealth landmarked a new era with improved health provider's skills and knowledge, and increased patient participation in medical care activities.

Objective: To show why the design and implementation of a healthcare system needs to follow a specific philosophy dictated by the level of eHealth maturity of a country and its citizens.

A patient centered electronic health system: an example for cyprus.

The design and implementation of a healthcare system needs to follow a specific philosophy regarding its operational structure and must be adapted gradually with one step at a time, depending on the level of maturity of a country on certain key issues. The main goal of this paper is to present an overall recommendations framework for implementing an Electronic Health System at national level, guided by the Patient Centered Philosophy. Certain prerequisites for implementing such systems are analyzed together with guiding principles for identifying the maturity level of an organization or country.