Setting up a Virtual Test Environment for User Group Specific Practical Exercises in eHealth eLearning Courses

In recent years e-Health – the support for healthcare processes by means of information and communication technology – has become an essential issue for governments, organizations, companies and citizens all over the world. Although at the moment the use of e-Health solutions is expected to bring primarily regional advantages, a series of factors show that the topic has to be considered in an international context and qualified human resources are seen as a key ingredient for success. Therefore the “eLearning4eHealth Network” project at the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien aims to develop internationally coordinated eLearning curses for e-Health based on specific knowledge profiles that have been developed in the project. Practical trainings with real world tools (which at best are even in live operation) need to be an important part of the courses. Thus, a set of tools were evaluated and an appropriate suite of them were selected based on knowledge group specific use cases. Currently they are integrated in the eLearning environment and into the courses content.