D4.2: Set of requirements for interoperability of Identity Management Systems

FIDIS BARRIERS FOR INTEROPERABILITY

Barriers for interoperability

Trust in the system is the most important aspect for Robben. He stresses that “this system will not work without the trust of the general public”. Robben says that the best way to get trust in the system is to have it managed by the people concerned - representatives of the health care sector, patients-sickness funds. If they trust the system, it will be used.

Neke emphasised the embedded power of industry monopolies and the economic model behind the health card system, and the standards and interoperability framework. Müller refers to the lack of technical infrastructure and economic incentives for implementing interoperability. She also argues that the new system reduces face-to-face contact between stakeholders in the process, owing to a more digitalised environment.

For Otter, the lack of technical standards in regards to the translation process of national citizen register among 25 EU member states is hindering interoperability. Another barrier and often overlooked issue in regards to European wide ehealth solutions, is the fact that each country has a different understanding of how to treat certain illnesses, what kind of medication to give the patient, what types of illnesses to regard as serious or minor, etc. However for Otter, privacy is the biggest challenge to the creation of a pan-European ehealth solution. Another barrier from the user perspective is users’ trust in the system; citizens might not trust the newly-developed IMS and therefore might reject the system.