The journey of continuous healthcare system reform is at a turning
point and is faced with contrasting elements. On the one hand,
effective electronic health records management could satisfy new
needs in healthcare services; on the other hand, pressure to reduce
costs might undermine the very effectiveness of their functionality.
We think it is possible, at least partly, to face the current and future
challenges of national and transnational healthcare systems by
expanding the reach of information and communication technologies.
EHR systems are fundamental elements of the modern healthcare systems, since they can assure a higher quality and security of
health records in comparison to traditional modes of information
collation, storage and transmission. Similarly, they can facilitate
access to records while assuring high standards of protection and
security for health care data and individual privacy. The social and
economic advantages of a wider use of EHR systems are potentially
high and our survey has shown that both professionals and
patients are ready for a change. Our research has evidenced a
sufficiently broad understanding of EHRs by health care providers
and patients, even though it is also clear that further investment is
required in supporting awareness of the pros and cons of the use
of ICT in healthcare data management.
Moreover, the research has stressed, on the part of both actors,
a clear awareness of the possible advantages offered by computerising health records. At the same time, the research has evidenced
biases and concerns in relation to computer use by some professionals, potentially impacting on the entire process of digitalising
healthcare data. Answers in the survey show that several of these
concerns can be overridden through a sharing of the costs of the
process which probably remains at the basis of any hostility from
professionals to the envisaged technologically driven changes.
Simultaneously, the research confirmed the underlying intuition that involved actors perceive the potential risks of the novel
technologies along with their potential benefits. Overall, the data
reveals the risk of perceiving the technical innovation as a path to
eradicate errors in medicine. This is an important point worthy of
further research and analysis. Indeed the survey has made the case