Faculty of Business, Computing and Information Management, London South Bank University, Borough Road, London, SE1 OAA, UK. ' Faculty of Business, Computing and Information Management, London South Bank University, Borough Road, London, SE1 OAA, UK. ' Primary Care Health Group, Medical School, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
The e-phenomenon has evolved rapidly and e-health is an interesting and instructive area of the e-phenomenon to examine. The UK government is making significant investments in new e-health projects but the healthcare sector has historically been slow to adopt IT solutions. The analysis in this paper of National Health Service (NHS) Direct employs a case study research approach to explore the e-phenomenon. Theoretical models are applied to NHS Direct in order to understand the success of its conceptualisation and implementation. The importance of management of change, skilled managers and organisational maturity is emphasised. The relevant strengths and weaknesses of other e-health projects are highlighted. The e-phenomenon will continue to make positive contributions to healthcare. Well-established theoretical models should be applied to future projects and the potential threats to current e-health projects should be acknowledged and addressed. E-health has a lot to offer but its biggest successes might be the hardest to foresee.
Comment on the Paper