Information Infrastructures and the Challenge of the Installed Base

Abstract

Introduction This chapter provides an introductory overview of healthcare information systems , followed by a more detailed discussion of e-prescription and governmental patient-oriented platforms. We use the umbrella term "eHealth" (also written e-health) that encompasses all health-related digital information systems including clinical, administrative, and research-oriented ones. Specifically, we adopt the eHealth definition introduced by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to this definition, eHealth is "the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for health; examples include treating patients, conducting research, educating the health workforce, tracking diseases and monitoring public health" (World Health Organisation 2016b). Similarly, the European Commission defines eHealth as: "the use of modern information and communication technologies to meet needs of citizens, patients, healthcare professionals, healthcare providers, as well as policy makers" (European Commission 2003). eHealth is considered pivotal for improving the quality and efficiency of health-care (Hillestad et al. 2005; Kellermann and Jones 2013), for improving the patient experience of care, and for the eventual revolutionization of healthcare (Drucker 2007).