Barriers, facilitators and success criteria in the implementation of eHealth solutions in healthcare

Abstract: As a response to the need for efficiency and innovation that modern society hasplaced over healthcare organizations, they are constantly looking for more efficientand innovative tools that facilitate the daily practices for providers. In this context,the use of digital solutions or eHealth arises as an alternative for healthcare.Despite the potential benefits of eHealth solutions, healthcare leaders experiencedifficulties implementing them. For that reason, health services researchersacknowledge the critical role of implementation science in the sector. Seeking tomotivate organizations to embrace eHealth solutions and their benefits, thisresearch identifies the barriers and facilitators experienced by project managersduring the implementation projects of innovations in healthcare. Moreover, itproposes the clarification of concrete criteria to assess success derived from theoutcomes of an implementation project. Starting with a literature review, followedby qualitative research and a data collection through a total of ten semi-structuredinterviews with project managers. Moreover, the data analysis is made based onthematic analysis. The results identify three main facilitators for innovation: 1)maintaining a balanced level of understanding for all stakeholders, 2) to have opencommunication, and 3) to have a high involvement of the top management with theproject. Moreover, the most relevant barrier faced by managers is the lack of skilledand competent people within the organization. Regarding the success ofimplementation projects, the most relevant criteria are: 1) delivering in the righttime, budget, scope and quality (reach the project goals), 2) maintaining thecustomer and user satisfaction, and 3) increase in work efficiency in the healthcareorganizations. To some extent, the mentioned factors contribute to facilitating theimplementation of innovations in healthcare. The role of managers inimplementation is highly valuable since they represent the bridge between topmanagement and front-line employees. This research summarizes the experienceof the managers -from a consultancy company- while working in theimplementation of digital tools in healthcare. Therefore, the research provides abetter understanding regarding the barriers, facilitators and success criteria forimplementation.