Health information: Partnership between Algeria and EU

The cooperation programme with the European Union (EU) in health offers a genuine opportunity to partnership development and knowledge and know-how transfer in the field of health information systems (HIS), Minister of Health, Population and Hospital Reform Djamel Ould Abbes said Thursday in Algiers. “It is particularly important to conduct together a comprehensive analysis of the situation in the sector to set up a decision support system (DSS) with the introduction of electronic medical record (EMR) as a basis of an efficient information system,” said Ould Abbes in a conference on HIS and DSS in Algeria in the presence of EU experts. The system’s implementation is supported by EU as part of support health programme in Algeria initiated in 2008. For Ould Abbes, the sector of health is “not only a producer of health data but also an excellent user of these data necessary for health system’s running, especially regarding the health planning, its implementation, follow-up and assessment.” "Prevention, diagnosis and treatment supply are the main foundations of health policy. The development of health information system is one of the principal tools,” he added.