Worldwide, the application of information and communication technologies to support national health-care services is rapidly expanding and increasingly important. This is especially so at a time when all health systems face stringent economic challenges and greater demands to provide more and better care, especially to those most in need.The "National eHealth Strategy Toolkit" is an expert, practical guide that provides governments, their ministries and stakeholders with a solid foundation and method for the development and implementation of a national eHealth vision, action plan and monitoring framework. All countries, whatever their level of development, can adapt the "Toolkit" to suit their own circumstances.Representing one of the most significant collaborations in recent years between the World Health Organization and the International Telecommunication Union, the "Toolkit" is a landmark in understanding what eHealth is, what it can do, and why and how it should be applied to health care today.