Today is what you could call a golden age for technological development in health care. Technology is given a bigger role in healthcare and serves not only as a support for health professionals in their daily work but also as a tool for the patient. With the help of eHealth services, patients are becoming more involved in their own care. This improves patient’s knowledge about their health, which in turn contributes to higher motivation to perform self-care. Since the autumn of 2012, health records online have been implemented in certain counties through an eHealth application named "my online health record”. This application will soon be launched nationwide in Sweden. In this study we are examining how this technological progress can be understood from a number of actors' perspectives, who have an interest in the situation. We have investigated this by performing a qualitative study in which we interviewed respondents from three different professions in order to find out their attitude towards the application. The result from the data collection shows a development towards a greater involvement of patients in their care process. Many doctors see this as a positive thing since it increases patient safety and improves the quality of the meeting between doctor and patient. There is a risk, however, of creating a digital gap between certain patients. A large group of patients have a high education, good skills within IT and therefore the ability to assimilate the information, however there’s a minority whom has no internet access or knowledge to assimilate the information in a good way. This creates a gap between these patient groups, where the first group will receive better care and the later gets left out of the system. In conclusion, the study has shown that this ongoing trend cannot be stopped, patients will demand access to more and more information in a more accessible way.

Den moderna informationsteknologin och ett alltmer multifunktionellt Internet bjuder på nya men framförallt lättare sätt att utföra sina vardagsangelägenheter. Många myndigheter följer med i ”informations- och kommunikationsrevolutionen” och erbjuder sina användare e-tjänster. Så även hälso- och sjukvården. De senaste åren har varit framgångsrik med framtagning av olika hälsotjänster för medborgarna online. Detta har visat sig vara omtyckt bland patienter men mindre uppskattad bland vårdpersonal. Speciellt är det läkarna som oroas av bland annat missförstånd av texter och därigenom ökad belastning med frågor till vårdenheter. Uppsala län införde tjänsten först i landet och då uppkom olika klagomål från läkarnas sida. Skåne län var andra län som införde tjänsten i mars 2014. Eftersom de flesta synpunkter handlade om läkarna i regionerna runt Uppsala län undersöks i denna studie vårdpersonals syn i Skåne län. Syftet med studien är att undersöka vårdpersonals inställning och kunskap ett år efter att patienten fått tillgång till sin journal via Internet. För att undersöka detta utfördes en kvantitativ studie med strukturerade enkäter och intervjuer bland olika vårdcentraler i Malmö stad. Resultatet av dataanalysen är att vårdpersonal är oroliga, främst för att det skall uppkomma missförstånd som orsakar onödig oro hos patienterna, men också för att vården skall bli mer belastad med oroliga patienters frågor. De tycker inte att journalen på nätet är en patientsäker tjänst även om resultatet visar att det finns bara någon som har kommit till lindrig skada vid läsning av journal på nätet. Slutsatsen är att vårdpersonal är oroliga och kritiska till tjänsten. Det som kom fram skiljer sig inte från tidigare undersökningar.

The effectiveness of communication in the Swedish healthcare system context has long been the subject of debate. Issues stemming from usability, accessability and interpretation affect the lives of patients, and yet the vocal groups in the healthcare communication debate are patients and administrators, not healthcare professionals. With the advent of eHealth services and new demands being put forth on the ability of healthcare professionals' to handle increasingly numerous and innovative systems, it is of more importance than ever to understand the healthcare professionals' work context. This article is based on interviews with five healthcare professionals concerning their views on electronic health records (EHR), eHealth services, trends in healthcare services development in Sweden, as well as their views on the future of eHealth solutions and health information technology (HIT). Analysis of collected information shows an apprehension among healthcare professionals towards electronic communication, as well as a dissatisfaction with the usability of modern healthcare systems. Sentiments are generally favourable towards eHealth solutions however, and most negative criticism of modern systems appears to stem from a frustration with being given less time with patients, as well as fears of compromising patient integrity. Results point toward healthcare professionals' being an untapped resource in the context of healthcare communication development, though major changes would have to occur in the distribution of demands on the healthcare professionals' time, as well as a shift in the way we view healthcare communication, from more traditional means, to modern, interactive systems.