Harnessing Digital Health Technologies During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Context Matters

A common development observed during the COVID-19 pandemic is the renewed reliance on digital health technologies. Prior to the pandemic, the uptake of digital health technologies to directly strengthen public health systems had been unsatisfactory; however, a relentless acceleration took...

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Main Authors: Petracca, Francesco, Ciani, Oriana, Cucciniello, Maria, Tarricone, Rosanna
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2020-12-01
Series:Journal of Medical Internet Research
Online Access:http://www.jmir.org/2020/12/e21815/
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spelling doaj-751685655a05439f8f12c98bb95481f32021-04-02T18:40:30ZengJMIR PublicationsJournal of Medical Internet Research1438-88712020-12-012212e2181510.2196/21815Harnessing Digital Health Technologies During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Context MattersPetracca, FrancescoCiani, OrianaCucciniello, MariaTarricone, Rosanna A common development observed during the COVID-19 pandemic is the renewed reliance on digital health technologies. Prior to the pandemic, the uptake of digital health technologies to directly strengthen public health systems had been unsatisfactory; however, a relentless acceleration took place within health care systems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, digital health technologies could not be prescinded from the organizational and institutional merits of the systems in which they were introduced. The Italian National Health Service is strongly decentralized, with the national government exercising general stewardship and regions responsible for the delivery of health care services. Together with the substantial lack of digital efforts previously, these institutional characteristics resulted in delays in the uptake of appropriate solutions, territorial differences, and issues in engaging the appropriate health care professionals during the pandemic. An in-depth analysis of the organizational context is instrumental in fully interpreting the contribution of digital health during the pandemic and providing the foundation for the digital reconstruction of what is to come after.http://www.jmir.org/2020/12/e21815/
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Petracca, Francesco
Ciani, Oriana
Cucciniello, Maria
Tarricone, Rosanna
spellingShingle Petracca, Francesco
Ciani, Oriana
Cucciniello, Maria
Tarricone, Rosanna
Harnessing Digital Health Technologies During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Context Matters
Journal of Medical Internet Research
author_facet Petracca, Francesco
Ciani, Oriana
Cucciniello, Maria
Tarricone, Rosanna
author_sort Petracca, Francesco
title Harnessing Digital Health Technologies During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Context Matters
title_short Harnessing Digital Health Technologies During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Context Matters
title_full Harnessing Digital Health Technologies During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Context Matters
title_fullStr Harnessing Digital Health Technologies During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Context Matters
title_full_unstemmed Harnessing Digital Health Technologies During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Context Matters
title_sort harnessing digital health technologies during and after the covid-19 pandemic: context matters
publisher JMIR Publications
series Journal of Medical Internet Research
issn 1438-8871
publishDate 2020-12-01
description A common development observed during the COVID-19 pandemic is the renewed reliance on digital health technologies. Prior to the pandemic, the uptake of digital health technologies to directly strengthen public health systems had been unsatisfactory; however, a relentless acceleration took place within health care systems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, digital health technologies could not be prescinded from the organizational and institutional merits of the systems in which they were introduced. The Italian National Health Service is strongly decentralized, with the national government exercising general stewardship and regions responsible for the delivery of health care services. Together with the substantial lack of digital efforts previously, these institutional characteristics resulted in delays in the uptake of appropriate solutions, territorial differences, and issues in engaging the appropriate health care professionals during the pandemic. An in-depth analysis of the organizational context is instrumental in fully interpreting the contribution of digital health during the pandemic and providing the foundation for the digital reconstruction of what is to come after.
url http://www.jmir.org/2020/12/e21815/
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