Sophia Vousidou-Mihailidou’s book, the result of her doctoral dissertation, recently published by Pedio under the title “Electronic Programs and Modern Hospital Management”, is timely based on the efforts of the last decade to promote digital health in our country.

The study begins with IT applications in hospitals, and especially government ones (Chapter 1), as an important part of digital health (Chapter 2). Lack of integration of subsystems (HIS) at the local (hospital), regional (DYPe) and central level (YY) MIS (Management Information System) has come to cover ESY.net and its evolution (BI.Forms) in combination with “Transparency” (also in Healthcare), the Price Observatory (with Observe.net) and the DRG to put the concept of valuation into practice, as mentioned in Chapter 3, in the context of e-Europe. The Greek research institutions mentioned in Chapter 4 have made and continue to contribute to digital health Chapter 5 presents the research methodology in Greece and Cyprus in quantitative and qualitative terms. Her conclusions are recorded in chapter 7 regarding the attitudes and opinions of workers and managers in Greek hospitals, as well as relevant administrative employees in Cyprus. Chapter 8 discusses the results of the study, while Chapter 9 lists conclusions and suggestions.

Regressions and experiments in a sensitive area of ​​health should not be avoided.

The answer to the question posed by the title of the book is yes. Electronic programs have drawn attention to modern hospital management, with the most appropriate tool for functional and financial assessment being ESY.net (BI.Forms) in Greece, as well as public hospital information systems in Cyprus, which can receive relevant knowledge. – as from our country. The procedural problems of training and registration in Greece, as well as the compatibility of the various subsystems in Cyprus, require the attention of managers to improve. Linking health policy to health care planning is a dominant requirement, supported by systems and indicators aimed at transparency in public life. Changing the culture of managers and employees towards accountability requires constant effort with guidelines. Thus, benchmarking will be motivated to identify best practices that should be rewarded in order to reduce bureaucracy and errors.

The author, with the very important research she did, concludes with a conclusion and a corresponding suggestion that the main precondition for the success of all of the above is to change the mentality in the central administration and ensure a minimum of political influence. consensus to develop a long-term national strategy with the cooperation of all stakeholders to avoid regression and experimentation in a sensitive area of ​​health.

Wrapping up Ms. Wusida, Sisyphus Stone no longer fits into digital health. The integration of hospital information systems in Greece (and Cyprus), combined with good administration, will make hospitals viable, efficient and effective if the problems of their interconnection and information extraction for health management and policy are solved, with the aim of being accountable to citizen patients. The latter are waiting for a complete individual electronic health card, their “personal” doctor to inform them, and their access to the next level, outpatient and mainly inpatient services, with integrated digital solutions beyond electronic prescriptions and very important things. mentioned in this study, which is extremely useful for scientists, policy makers and medical professionals.

* Mr. Nikos Polizos is Professor at the Department of Health Management and Organization at the Thracian University of Democritus.