Development Towards Patient-Centered eHealth Services in Finland.

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Patient Experience Research
• Digital Health Services

Background:

• Public eHealth services aim to improve healthcare access and efficiency.
• Patient perspectives are crucial for evaluating and developing effective digital health tools.
• Previous assessments identified specific patient-desired features for eHealth platforms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the evolution of Finnish public eHealth services between 2014 and 2021.
• To assess the extent to which patient-identified needs were met in eHealth service development.
• To determine if eHealth services are patient-oriented or organization-oriented.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative analysis of patient interviews conducted in 2014-2015.
• Comparative assessment of identified patient needs against eHealth service offerings in 2021.
• Longitudinal evaluation of eHealth service development from a patient viewpoint.

Main Results:

• Key patient-desired features identified in 2014-2015 were not implemented by 2021.
• A significant gap persists between patient expectations and the functionalities of public eHealth services.
• The study highlights a lack of patient-centric design in the development of these services.

Conclusions:

• Finnish public eHealth services remain largely organization-oriented, not patient-oriented.
• Continuous patient engagement is necessary for the successful development of digital health solutions.
• Future eHealth development must prioritize patient needs and usability to achieve true patient-centered care.