Principles and effects of electronic communication systems between healthcare providers and managed-care organisations

The present paper studies the issue of electronic communication among healthcare providers, patients and Managed-Care Organisations (MCOs) and how this communication could be exploited in order to increase the quality of health services. Specifically, we review the existing electronic communication systems in health and how they are used by the stakeholders and the medical staff. After reviewing the barriers to using online communication in clinical practice, we emphasise the challenges and the advantages of embodying such systems in daily healthcare services.