EHR and usability of health data to benefit patient and public health.

Digitalized information in health sector can improve primary care quality and facilitate public health researches to benefit society. The state of the art encourages the development of ICT solutions for a greater usability of de-identified health data. Several governments are implementing effective strategies such as Open Government Data and Linked Open Data in order to access public data and promote new economic activities. Legal and technical analyses emphasize the urgent need for a deeper focus on harmonization such that health data can actually empower patient and scientific research. The mentioned goal is possible if three conditions are achieved: harmonization of law, harmonization of legal and technical rules and harmonization of Electronic Health Record system design.