This will be achieved by establishing pilots of Regional Health Care Networks (Community Health Information Networks) in 9 regions in 8 European countries. Different types of electronic text- and multimedia-messages will be communicated. The implementation and validation of the Regional Health Care Networks will be based on common methodologies, guidelines, European standards and computer tools. These can be immediately applied in other implementation projects.

Purpose and objectives

Because of the specialisation and division of labour, there is a need for extensive communication between the participants involved in the health care sector, i.e. communication of everyday routine messages such as prescriptions, referrals, discharge letters and laboratory results. There is also a growing need for new information on home care, use of images, access to quality databases, exchange of health care records, etc.

The accurate, fast and safe communication of information has, therefore become decisive to the cost, quality and patient service of the entire health service. The traditional manner of printing data from one computer system, sending it by mail, and finally typing the same information into another system, counteracts these goals.

The CoCo project addresses these challenges of the fragmented health care sector by offering widespread use of Telematics and simultaneously supports re-engineering of the work processes.

To integrate the IT-systems in health care, CoCo establishes regional networks between the most important parts of the health care sector. CoCo is using existing technology and common European pre-CEN-standards for the most frequent messages used in primary health care.

In short: CoCo is making standardised EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) in European health care.

The objective of CoCo is to improve the coordination and continuity of health care and social services. This is done by establishing pilots of Regional Health Care Network in 10 regions of 8 European countries. In parallel with the technological implementation, business process re-engineering (BPR) in the participating organisations is guided and supported. Project "ownership" by the users - the regions - is one key element in CoCo. This will ensure committed participation from the users and the continuous focus on real user needs.

Once this regional health care data network has been established, the communication will be of such size that operations and further developments are expected to continue under normal commercial conditions. CoCo paves the way for other implementation projects and supports dissemination of the technology throughout Europe. This implies a better service for patients, higher professional standards and a more efficient health care sector.

A major discussion is now opened, not only within CoCo, but also in the IT community, about the impact of Internet on products and services under development or testing. This issue was discussed also during the CoCo Rotterdam seminar in February '97. The position of the consortium is that Internet is definitely a big thrust for the diffusion of telematic application (and IT knowledge), but some problems (such as specifically the problem of exchanging medical data in mutual comprehensible way) cannot be automatically solved by Internet.

The CoCo consortium believes that a problem of defining standard messages still exists, independently from the specific network and protocol implementations that will be selected and adopted.

Results

• The CoCo Project Overview: Re-assessment of the whole workplan, accordingly to the user needs identified during the project's preparation phase
• Preparation of the "CoCo handbook", a set of important guidelines produced by CoCo experts for supporting other regions in building their regional health networks.
• Development of the common CoCo EDIFACT standards, based on CEN work. These so-called "Message Implementation Guidelines" (MIG's) are the basis for regional versions of the EDIFACT messages.
• Development of a set of computer tools to support the system developers when adjusting their systems to handle EDIFACT communication.

REGIONAL results:

CoCo aspire to make a complete "package" for implementation of Regional Health Care Networks. This includes both commercial products, reports, telematic services and consultancy. For instances:

• "easy to implement" standards and consensusdatalists
• Guidelines, handbooks evaluation tools etc.
• software tools like the EDI converter and the EDI simulator
• telecom and VANS with expertise on health care networks
• sw providers with representing a wide range of systems with communication capabilities
• a network of experts who can work as consultants an a national or international basis

List of deliverables

List of participants

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