Monitoring the Amount of Practical Use of eHealth on National Level by Use of Log Data: Lessons Learned.
This paper set out to define the lessons learned from the process of characterizing the amount of practical use of eHealth on national level by collecting and comparing log data harvested from national logs in the Nordic countries. The health systems of the Nordic countries are quite similar in structure and their eHealth strategies include similar elements, however when confronted with the specific context in the different systems it proved challenging to define a common set of indicators for monitoring the practical use of eHealth. A thorough analysis of context leading to the definitions of the indicators is the basis needed due to the complexity of the data in the national logs. A comprehensive knowledge of the structure that underlines these logs is of utmost importance when striving for collecting comparable data. Although challenging, the process of defining indicators for practical use of eHealth by data harvested trough national logs is not an impossible task, but a task that requires in depth discussions of definitions of indicators as well as a substantial insight into the architecture and content of the national databases. There is need for continuous work on these indicators to ensure their quality and thus make sure that the defined indicators can meaningfully inform eHealth policies.
Department of Planning, Aalborg University, Denmark.
Sidsel
S
Villumsen
Dept. of Health Information Management, Directorate of health, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Guðrún Auður
GA
Harðardóttir
FinnTelemedicum, Dept. of Medical Technology, University of Oulu.
Maarit
M
Kangas
Health Informatics Research Group, Dept. of neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU.
Heidi
H
Gilstad
Health Informatics Research Group, Dept. of neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU.
Berit Johanne
BJ
Brattheim
FinnTelemedicum, Dept. of Medical Technology, Univ. of Oulu and Raahe Hospital, Finland.
Jarmo
J
Reponen
Information Dept., National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
Hannele
H
Hypponen
Department of Planning, Aalborg University, Denmark.
Christian
C
Nøhr
D000068598:Data Accuracy; D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000145:classification* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D062527:Meaningful Use / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012537:Scandinavian and Nordic Countries; D014600:Utilization Review / Q000379:methods*