Towards Accountable E-Health Policies in the Nordic Countries

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Informatics
• Health Policy

Background:

• Nordic countries are recognized leaders in digital health technology implementation.
• National digital health strategies have long guided implementation in these nations.
• The evolving European Health Data Space (EHDS) necessitates a review of current strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze and compare the scope, ambitions, and accountability of national digital health policies in Nordic countries.
• To assess how these policies align with emerging European digital health legislation.
• To identify best practices in digital health policy development and implementation.

Main Methods:

• Policy analysis of national-level digital health strategies from five Nordic countries.
• Comparative assessment of policy scope, stated ambitions, and accountability mechanisms.
• Qualitative review of policy documents to evaluate transparency and evaluation frameworks.

Main Results:

• Common policy scopes include citizen empowerment, shift to prevention and digital-first approaches, support for health operations, foundational groundwork, enhanced data availability for research, and support for health personnel.
• Finland demonstrates the highest ambition, aiming for comprehensive health system transformation through digitalization.
• Finland and Iceland exhibit strong commitments to prevention and digital-first strategies, particularly relevant for rural populations.
• Finland and Iceland's policies are identified as the most accountable, with greater transparency in their conclusions and evaluation methods.

Conclusions:

• Digital health policies in Nordic countries cover a broad range of objectives, from citizen engagement to data utilization.
• Finland stands out for its ambitious vision for digital transformation in healthcare.
• Accountability and transparency in digital health policy are crucial, with Finland and Iceland setting a high standard.
• The findings provide insights for other nations navigating digital health strategy development, especially in light of the EHDS.