What About the Management Perspective? – A Systematic Review of Digital Health Literature (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND New digital health technologies are considered one solution to challenges in the health sector, which include rising numbers of chronic diseases and increased health spending. As digitalization in healthcare is still in its infancy, there are many unanswered questions about the impact of digital health on management. OBJECTIVE This paper assesses the current state of knowledge in the field of digital health from a management perspective. It highlights research gaps within this field to determine future research opportunities. METHODS A systematic review of digital health literature was conducted using three databases. The chosen articles (n=38) were classified according to a taxonomy developed for the purpose and research gaps were identified based on the topic areas discussed. RESULTS The literature review revealed a slight prevalence of practical (55%) over theoretical (45%) approaches. Most of the papers (61%) deal with information technology (IT) and are, therefore, focused more on technology and less on management. Most of them (82%) have a research question dealing with the creation of concepts; very few (11%) evaluate or even question existing solutions. Most consider the main reason for digitalization to be the optimization of operational processes (68%); 42% deal with new business models. The topic area discussed most frequently was found to be eHealth (79%). By contrast, the field of tech health with topics such as sensors receives the least attention (8%), despite its significant potential for healthcare processes and strategy. CONCLUSIONS Three main research propositions were identified. First, research into digital health should focus less on the technology and more on the implications it has for management. Second, the research community should target other domains besides eHealth. Third, we observed a lack of quantitative research on the real impact of digital health on organizations and their management.