Materialization of Regional Health Information Networks in Greece: Electronic Health Record Barriers & Enablers

Katehakis, Dimitrios G.; Halkiotis, Stelios; Kouroubali, Angelina

doi:https://doi.org/10.1260/2040-2295.2.3.389

Journal of Healthcare Engineering

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Research Article | Open Access

Volume 2 | Article ID 749634 | https://doi.org/10.1260/2040-2295.2.3.389

Materialization of Regional Health Information Networks in Greece: Electronic Health Record Barriers & Enablers

Dimitrios G. Katehakis,¹Stelios Halkiotis,¹and Angelina Kouroubali¹

Received01 Jul 2010

Accepted01 May 2011

Abstract

This paper draws upon the experience of production level implementations, initiated through public procurement, of four regional health information networks (RHINs). The RHINs are being implemented in four regional health authorities (RHAs) in Greece to support patient-centred services. This paper focuses on three key areas: (i) engineering issues related to the deployment of an integrated electronic health record (EHR) system, (ii) management issues regarding implementation and planning, and (iii) socio-organizational issues influencing the outcome of large scale EHR implementations. The complexity of the health sector is also presented focusing on EHR barriers and enablers at institutional and regional levels. Reasons why EHR system implementations have not progressed as expected are also discussed.

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Copyright © 2011 Hindawi Publishing Corporation. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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