Can We Enable Digital Transition in Healthcare Delivery?: Insights From a Survey of Telemedicine Services in the Piedmont Region

摘要

Implementing digital health transition is challenging. Whilst technology progresses rapidly, the appropriation of innovation in healthcare is slower and has to deal with the local context. This is the case with Piedmont, an Italian region where in the last decade a number of telemedicine projects have been launched. In order to assess their implementation a survey has been recently conducted by the regional Health Department. This work builds upon the results of this investigation. The conceptual approach underlying the survey is illustrated and the main findings of the investigation discussed. To examine the regional situation, a notion of telemedicine maturity model is used. By making it explicit the main dimensions entailed in developing an ehealth service, its application can facilitate the digital health transition in the region. A core argument is that to handle the complexity of ehealth projects a collaborative environment for exchanging health knowledge should be implemented.