Overall, the health information systems with the highest value in terms of data availability, maturity and use were found in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Israel, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden and the United Kingdom (Scotland and Wales). The national personal health datasets reported by countries tend to have very high coverage of targeted populations, rely upon automatic data extraction from electronic clinical and administrative records, and include the use of standard codes for clinical terminology. Key reasons for approving these linkages include to develop health care quality and system performance indicators to measure care co-ordination, outcomes of care pathways, resource utilisation and costs, and compliance with national health care guidelines.