The ProRec initiative of 1996 is a network of national non-profit organisations (the "ProRec centres"). The initiative was a consequence of the conclusions of the Concerted Action MEDIREC (1994-1995) regarding the reasons why Electronic Health Record

Electronic Health Record

An electronic health record is an evolving concept defined as a systematic collection of electronic health information about individual patients or populations...

 (EHR) systems were not used more widely in any of the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

. As part of the Lisbon Declaration

Lisbon Strategy

The Lisbon Strategy, also known as the Lisbon Agenda or Lisbon Process, was an action and development plan devised in 2000, for the economy of the European Union between 2000 and 2010....

 suggestions were made to remedy this situation.

The ProRec initiative is supported by the DG Information Society

Directorate-General for Information Society and Media (European Commission)

EU Directorate General Information Society and Media or "DG Infso" is a Directorate-General of the European Commission.The current European Commissioner for Digital Agenda is Neelie Kroes and the Director-General is Robert Madelin....

 of the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

. The DG Information Society supported the ProRec initiative with the ProRec Support Action (1996-1998), and the WIDENET Accompanying Measure (2000-2003).

The goal of the initiative is to build awareness of the limitations, shortcomings and obstacles on the way towards widespread development, implementation and use of quality Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and pointing them out. Especially significant for implementing Electronic Health Record systems is the ability to communicate and interoperate.

See also

• CEN/TC 251
  TC 251
  CEN/TC 251 is a workgroup within the European Union working on standardization in the field of Health Information and Communications Technology in the European Union...
  
  
• EHRcom
• European Institute for Health Records
  European Institute for Health Records
  The European Institute for Health Records or EuroRec Institute is a non-profit organization founded in 2002 as part of the ProRec initiative. On 13 May 2003, the institute was established as a non-profit organization under French law. Current President of EuroRec is Prof. Georges De Moor...
  
   (EuroRec)
• European Health Telematics Association
  European Health Telematics Association
  The European Health Telematics Association is a European non-profit organization, which provides a platform to all European eHealth stakeholders to exchange information on eHealth...
  
   (EHTEL)
• European Health Telematics Observatory
  European Health Telematics Observatory
  The European Health Telematics Observatory is a non-profit organization which collects, analyses and makes available in a user-friendly form information on developments in the field of health telematics. The organization contributes to the deployment of health telematics applications and standards...
  
   (EHTO)
• Health Informatics Service Architecture (HISA)