engleski

Digitalisation and informatisation of healthcare system in Croatia: learning from others´ experience

Introduction: The information system currently used in the everyday practice of Croatian hospitals, ambulatories of general practitioners, community health care facilities, pharmacies, and other health care institutions, is far from being on a satisfactory level: it is generally highly bureaucratized, the system units do not communicate between each other adequately, and the process of health care service quality suffers. In the UK, for instance, the aim has been set to fully avoid using paper in hospitals by 2020. Overall computerization is supposed to alleviate the position of both patients and health care system employees, enable better communication, offer improved health care service, and above all, increase the general level of satisfaction. Methods: We conducted a review of the relevant literature published within the last ten years (2010- 2019) in the Medline database. We searched for accounts of positive and negative effects of health care system digitalisation and computerization on treatment errors, waiting lists, communication between health care providers and patients, patient safety, personal data protection, and other relevant parameters. Results: In March 2019, Croatian Health Insurance Fund reported that it had secured the means to speed up the process of computerization of the health care system by introducing e-patient- dossiers and e-orders by 2021, thus shortening waiting lists for medical examinations. In Slovenia, it is said that the health care business model largely failed to integrate ICT into its operational context. In Germany, it also seems that the degree of digitalisation in health care is low when compared internationally and with other German industries. A more general study concluded that successful implementation of new technology requires organisational and collegial support. Discussion and conclusion: Although digitalisation and computerization have proved to result in an overall increase in economic efficiency of a health care system, the process of digitalisation brings certain risks related to the collision of inherited technologies with a new complex organisation and performing structures, as well as to limited resources and other social and political phenomena. Our analysis of pros and cons of digitalisation and computerization experiences in various European health care systems has revealed the expected benefits but also certain specific ethical dilemmas. From the findings we have concluded that for a system to achieve success in the digitalisation process, it should pay attention to health care system users and providers, to the protection of privacy and the improvement of safety, and to the increase in interoperability and transparency. It should also foster the inclusion of health care providers in the design and performance of the digitalisation process.

digitalisation, hospital, health care system, health care, health care providers

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