A cross-national analysis of eHealth in the European Union: Some policy and research directions

This study analyzes the relationship among eHealth profiles across 27 European Union Member States. It builds on prior research that uses multivariate statistical methods to provide a cross-country analysis on two dimensions: ICT penetration and availability compared with eHealth access and usage among health professionals. Based on the quantitative indicators/metrics used in our study, our results reveal that four distinct country groupings emerge as frontrunners, followers, leapfroggers and laggards. Frontrunners combine a strong ICT infrastructure with relatively high adoption of eHealth technologies. Our study suggests that a one-size-fits-all approach to health IT is not recommended for EU Member States because policy-makers at the national level need to develop an eHealth roadmap that reflects national, regional and local conditions that go beyond technical imperatives.