Building National eHealth Platforms: The Challenge of Inclusiveness

In this paper, we examine the introduction of public e-health platforms at the national level in three Scandinavian countries. Specifically, we investigate these initaitives with a focus on understanding how inclusiveness was pursued in relation to the political orientation of platform development, the coordination of work among multiple contributors, and, the handling of technical heterogeneity within the pre-existing and continuous evolving eHealth landscape. Inclusiveness is related both to the character of public platforms as “common goods”, and, to growth ambitions for public eHealth. The aim for inclusiveness sets the platforms studied apart from the market oriented ones that are mostly discussed in the literature. Our paper highlights the implications of sector differences to platform formation and contributes insights that are specific about public eHealth platforms.