Infrastructure and Capacity Building for Semantic Interoperability in Healthcare in the Netherlands.

Over 15 years, a broad spectrum of activities was undertaken to realize a health IT infrastructure in the Netherlands. In this paper we reflect on the history, challenges, accomplishments, changes, and the way forward. It shows that the infrastructure depends on technical, legal, and semantic aspects, which are frequently reciprocally related. It also highlights the fact that the role of health professionals and of patients is increasingly considered as a crucial element.