Health Informatics present complex and challenging issues to computer scientists, social scientists, law experts and policy makers. Appropriate healthcare informatics provisioning involves processing specialized user centric knowledge that is private and of sensitive nature. Electronic health record systems provide opportunities for information sharing which promise improving healthcare services, for both healthcare providers and healthcare seekers. However, appropriate information management measures are essential for privacy preservation and reliability.

Traditional measures may not be suitable for eHealth systems because, in eHealth systems,  the roles of all stakeholders are not well defined. Healthcare professionals require ready access to as much information as possible to support informed decision making. However, patients may want to exercise control over the entities granting controlled access to their personal health information, with particular concerns for information privacy. Balancing these competing concerns is a major challenge in the implementation of successful e-Health systems.