JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

In Finland, the development of eHealth maturity has been systematically studied since 2003 through surveys conducted every three years. It has also been monitored in several international studies. The indicators used in the studies examined the availability of the electronic patient record (EPR), the picture archiving and communication system (PACS), and the health information exchange (HIE). They analyzed whether prescriptions and referral practices have moved to electronic form and whether healthcare systems are able to perform their functions wirelessly and remotely. The studies also looked at how the general arrangements for information security have been implemented in different organizations.

Objective:

The first aim is to study the national development of the maturity level of eHealth in primary health care and specialized care from 2011 to 2020. Secondly, the study aims to clarify the regional differences at the maturity level of eHealth among hospital districts in 2020.

Methods:

Data for this study were collected in 2011, 2014, 2017, and 2020 using web-based questionnaires from the “Use of information and communication technology surveys in Finnish health care.” Sixteen indicators were selected to describe the status of eHealth, and they were based on international eHealth studies and Finnish eHealth surveys in three areas: (1) applications, (2) regional integration, and (3) data security and ICT skills. The final value of each indicator was determined from the average responses of the selected sets of respondents.

Results:

All 21 hospital districts in 2011, 2014, 2017, and 2020 participated in the study. The response rate among primary healthcare organizations was 86% (139/161) in 2011, 88% (135/153) in 2014, 86% (121/141) in 2017, and 96% (130/136) in 2020. At the national level, the biggest developments in eHealth maturity had taken place between 2011 and 2014. Since then, the development has continued, and some of the indicators have been saturated. Primary health care lags behind specialized care organizations as measured by all indicators and throughout the period under review. Regionally, there are differences between different types of organizations.

Conclusions:

Health maturity has steadily progressed nationally in Finland, and some indicators have already been saturated and reached 100% intensity of use rate. However, there is still room for development, especially in primary health care.