Europe faces a challenge: how to apply information and communication technologies to health care. One problem is the widening gap between the expectations of citizens and the limited resources available to provide health services. It is here that advanced technology can serve as an important tool to find innovative and more efficient ways of delivering health services. This book reports the summary of a study performed under contract by a team of consultants for Directorate-General XIII of the Commission of the European Communities. It analyses the key factors governing the evolution of advanced information systems for health care and medicine in Europe and provides guidelines for placing current and future work within the framework of the Community research and development programmes.