Identifying the challenges of developing e-health businesses; A qualitative study

With the ever-increasing development of providers and users of electronic health services, the need to formulate strategies and laws compatible with innovations has become necessary. Understanding the current situation through the identification of challenges in different sectors can provide useful information in the field of legislation for policy makers.

The present study was qualitative research. The data was obtained through interviews with business managers in the field of e-health. Purposeful sampling was performed in 2022 among service providers include Provider of telemedicine services, online health information, mhealth and online pharmacies. Data were analyzed using standard qualitative content analysis with MAXQDA v.10 software.

After analyzing the data, 29 codes related to legal and ethical challenges were obtained. These items were classified into 8 main categories: Regulatory and legislation, responsiveness and responsibility, competence, user opinions, super applications, standard of care, patient benefits, patient data and records. Suggestions were also provided in each case.

In the field of electronic health governance, there are challenges that should be addressed by policy makers. Legal issues are one of the main obstacles and challenges for businesses in this area. If ethical and legitimate businesses are out of competition, users may seek online services from unlicensed or unprofessional providers. This creates serious problems for the health system.