Electronic health (eHealth) interventions could improve care, but barriers related to workflow diminish its success, according to findings published May 1 in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
In this study, researchers examined peer-reviewed studies on implemented eHealth tools to identify factors of a successful or failure of the intervention.
“To improve the success of eHealth, it is important to identify the factors that can influence, positively or negatively, the outcome of the intervention,” wrote first author Conceicao Granja, PhD, with the Norwegian Centre for E-health Research in Tromsø, Norway, and colleagues. “The overall aim of this study was to seek, through a systematic review, patterns in the assessment of eHealth intervention outcomes, and through these patterns to identify factors that can help explain why eHealth interventions fail or succeed in clinical practice.”
Researchers collected 903 articles from the PubMed data base—221 of which were included in the evaluation. The studies included several successful (53.6 percent) and failed (46.5 percent) interventions. Overall, researchers identified 27 categories associated with the success or failure of the eHealth intervention.
The most frequently mentioned factor in successful interventions was the quality of healthcare (55), while cost (42) was mentioned most often in failed interventions. However, workflow (51) was most frequently mentioned in both types of interventions. Researchers noted six barriers to eHealth implementation related to workflow: workload, role definition, undermining of face-to-face communication, workflow disruption, alignment with clinical processes and staff turnover.
“The reviewed literature suggested that, to increase the likelihood of success of eHealth interventions, future research must ensure a positive impact in the quality of care, with particular attention given to improved diagnosis, clinical management, and patient-centered care,” concluded Granja and colleagues. “There is a critical need to perform in-depth studies of the workflow(s) that the intervention will support and to perceive the clinical processes involved.”
Cara joined TriMed Media in 2016 and is currently a Senior Writer for Clinical Innovation & Technology. Originating from Detroit, Michigan, she holds a Bachelors in Health Communications from Grand Valley State University.