Abstract
BackgroundThe field of eHealth has a history of more than 20 years. During that time, many different eHealth services were developed. However, factors influencing the adoption of such services were seldom the main focus of analyses. For this reason, organizations adopting and implementing eHealth services seem not to be fully aware of the barriers and facilitators influencing the integration of eHealth services into routine care.ObjectiveThe objective of this work is to provide (1) a comprehensive list of relevant barriers to be considered and (2) a list of facilitators or success factors to help in planning and implementing successful eHealth services.MethodsFor this study, a twofold approach was applied. First, we gathered experts’ current opinions on facilitators and barriers in implementing eHealth services via expert discussions at two health informatics conferences held in Europe. Second, we conducted a systematic literature analysis concerning the barriers and facilitators for the implementation of eHealth services. Finally, we merged the results of the expert discussions with those of the systematic literature analysis.ResultsBoth expert discussions (23 and 10 experts, respectively) identified 15 barriers and 31 facilitators, whereas 76 barriers and 268 facilitators were found in 38 of the initial 56 articles published from 12 different countries. For the analyzed publications, the count of distinct barriers reported ranged from 0 to 40 (mean 10.24, SD 8.87, median 8). Likewise, between 0 and 48 facilitators were mentioned in the literature (mean 9.18, SD 9.33, median 6). The combination of both sources resulted in 77 barriers and 292 facilitators for the adoption and implementation of eHealth services.ConclusionsThis work contributes a comprehensive list of barriers and facilitators for the implementation and adoption of eHealth services. Addressing barriers early, and leveraging facilitators during the implementation, can help create eHealth services that better meet the needs of users and provide higher benefits for patients and caregivers.
Highlights
IntroductionBackgroundIn 1999, the term eHealth was coined. The first publications defined it as a “new term needed to describe the combined use of electronic communication and information technology in the health sector
BackgroundIn 1999, the term eHealth was coined
The expert discussion concerning barriers for eHealth services resulted in three categories of barriers: (1) individual, (2) environmental and organizational, and (3) technical barriers
Summary
BackgroundIn 1999, the term eHealth was coined. The first publications defined it as a “new term needed to describe the combined use of electronic communication and information technology in the health sector. Objective: The objective of this work is to provide (1) a comprehensive list of relevant barriers to be considered and (2) a list of facilitators or success factors to help in planning and implementing successful eHealth services. Between 0 and 48 facilitators were mentioned in the literature (mean 9.18, SD 9.33, median 6) The combination of both sources resulted in 77 barriers and 292 facilitators for the adoption and implementation of eHealth services. Conclusions: This work contributes a comprehensive list of barriers and facilitators for the implementation and adoption of eHealth services. Addressing barriers early, and leveraging facilitators during the implementation, can help create eHealth services that better meet the needs of users and provide higher benefits for patients and caregivers
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