Diffusion of e-health services: A qualitative study on the use of e-health services in Sweden during the pandemic

Abstract: E-health services are critical for improving the quality of life and accessibility of healthcare. There have been multiple developments within e-health services, but the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant increase in the use of these services, which led to faster diffusion of e-health services. A qualitative study was conducted to examine how the Swedish public healthcare system worked to diffuse e-health services during the pandemic. This study inquired seven domain experts through semi-structured interviews. The result sug-gests that the diffusion of e-health services was possible due to enhanced collaboration and communication among the public organizations, improved marketing and promotion, and fast-paced adaptations to fit the circumstances around the COVID-19 pandemic. The study re-vealed the role of government policies, organizational issues, and financial factors that influ-ence e-health diffusion. While it is suggested that the pandemic has accelerated e-health diffu-sion, it has also decelerated the developments in e-health innovations. Future reforms in or-ganizational standards and workflow are needed to overcome the barriers of e-health diffu-sions. Moreover, the market needs to be broadened to cater to the needs of the individuals and developments in e-health must be people-centric and beneficial for the user.