The use of information communication technology (ICT) in health care : Finland vs Ethiopia

Abstract

Different countries have adopted and integrated Information communication technology (ICT) into their Healthcare sectors at different rates. It is apparent this is the way into improved healthcare currently and in the years to come. This research paper is derived from a previous thesis that was done in 2012 which took a case study approach to identifying issues in ICT development in Ethiopia. And now using a combination of primary and secondary sources, including previous analyses, government and NGO reports, books and published materials by policymakers in Ethiopia and Finland.

Purpose of the paper was to describe the state of ICT use in health care in Finland and Ethiopia. To define and identify challenges to effective ICT implementation in health care. The theoretical part of this paper discuss about the driving factors to adopt ICT in health care. Moreover the delivery of health care in the two country is discussed. The research also examined the current state of ICT in health care implementation, barriers and challenges. The findings were then used to compare where these two countries are in their ICT implementation and how they are utilizing ICT in their health care sectors. The result indicate that Finland has an excellent ICT implementation and utilization in health care and other sectors whereas Ethiopia still lags behind due to number of reasons. Finally, there is the conclusion section that gives a recap of the main ideas appraised in the paper.