Implementation Science & eHealth
MedTech and digital innovation moves fast, and have a very real impact on the lives and work of patients, healthcare professionals and researchers. But real impact only happens when we actually adopt and use these new innovations, and implementation is often a lot more challenging than we think! Not only does the innovation itself need to be useful, well-designed and meet the expectations of the end-users, we also need to consider the complex socio-technical context in which is it to be used, and the skills, motivation and interests of its future users. This is where implementation research comes in.
Implementation research was one of the areas that was prioritized when Uppsala MedTech was founded. It was considered essential to not only develop new MedTech innovations, but also to understand the complex processes needed to get these new innovations into use in everyday clinical work and patients’ lives.
Most current implementation research focuses on the implementation of clinical guidelines and knowledge in healthcare. Within medical informatics and engineering, we often discuss socio-technical systems, human factors and usability in relation to the implementation of medical technology and eHealth. During the fall of 2018, Maria Hägglund, senior lecturer in implementation science and associate professor in health informatics, was recruited to Uppsala MedTech Science & Innovation to establish research around implementation of medical technology in healthcare.
Current research
- Studies of Online Consultations / Telemedicine
- ePrIm
- Beyond Implementation of eHealth
- NORDeHEALTH
- SCarD
- De-PAEHR
- EDIH Health Data Sweden
NORDeHEALTH research project

ePrIm research project

Publications within implementation science and ehealth
- Schwarz J, Bärkås A, Blease C, Collins L, Hägglund M, Markham S, Hochwarter S. Sharing Clinical Notes and Electronic Health Records With People Affected by Mental Health Conditions: Scoping Review. JMIR Ment Health. 2021 Dec 14;8(12):e34170. doi: 10.2196/34170. PMID: 34904956.
- Blease, C., DesRoches, C., Hägglund, M., Hayden, A., Rexhepi, H., Salmi, L. (2021). Knowledge, power, and patients: The ethics of open notes. Journal of Medical Ethics
- Blease, C., Dong, Z., Torous, J., Walker, J., Hägglund, M., DesRoches, C. (2021). Association of Patients Reading Clinical Notes With Perception of Medication Adherence Among Persons With Serious Mental Illness. JAMA Network Open, 4(3)
- Blease, C., Kharko, A., Hägglund, M., O'Neill, S., Wachenheim, D., Salmi, L., Harcourt, K., Locher, C., DesRoches, C., Torous, J. (2021). The benefits and harms of open notes in mental health: A Delphi survey of international experts. PLOS ONE, 16(10)
- Blease, C., O'Neill, S., Torous, J., DesRoches, C., Hägglund, M. (2021). Patient Access to Mental Health Notes: Motivating Evidence-Informed Ethical Guidelines. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 209(4): 265-269
- Blease, C., Salmi, L., Hägglund, M., Wachenheim, D., DesRoches, C. (2021). COVID-19 and Open Notes: A New Method to Enhance Patient Safety and Trust.JMIR Mental Health, 8(6)
- Blease, C., Salmi, L., Rexhepi, H., Hägglund, M., DesRoches, C. (2021). Patients, clinicians and open notes: information blocking as a case of epistemic injustice. Journal of Medical Ethics. Published Online First: 14 May 2021. doi: 10.1136/medethics-2021-107275
- Blease, C., Torous, J., Kharko, A., DesRoches, C., Harcourt, K., O’Neill, S., Salmi, L., Wachenheim, D., Hägglund, M. (2021). Preparing Patients and Clinicians for Open Notes in Mental Health: Qualitative Inquiry of International Experts.JMIR Mental Health, 8(4)
- Bärkås, A., Scandurra, I., Rexhepi, H., Blease, C., Cajander, Å., Hägglund, M. (2021). Patients’ Access to Their Psychiatric Notes: Current Policies and Practices in Sweden.International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(17)
- Cijvat, C., Cornet, R., Hägglund, M. (2021). Factors Influencing Development and Implementation of Patients' Access to Electronic Health Records: A Comparative Study of Sweden and the Netherlands.Frontiers In Public Health, 9
- Hägglund, M. (2021). Nordic countries lead new initiative on patient access to EHRs. BMJ. British Medical Journal (International Ed.)
- Hägglund, M., Scandurra, I.(2021). User Evaluation of the Swedish Patient Accessible Electronic Health Record: System Usability Scale.JMIR Human Factors, 8(3)
- Riggare, S., Hägglund, M., Bredenoord, A., de Groot, M., Bloem, B. (2021). Ethical Aspects of Personal Science for Persons with Parkinson’s Disease: What Happens When Self-Tracking Goes from Selfcare to Publication?.Journal of Parkinson's Disease, 11(4): 1927-1933
- Riggare, S., Stamford, J., Hägglund, M. (2021). A Long Way to Go: Patient Perspectives on Digital Health for Parkinson's Disease.Journal of Parkinson's Disease, 11(s1): S5-S10
- Salmi, L., Blease, C., Hägglund, M., Walker, J., DesRoches, C. (2021). US policy requires immediate release of records to patients. BMJ. British Medical Journal, 372
- Blease, C., Delbanco, T., Torous, J., Ponten, M., DesRoches, C. et al. (2020). Sharing clinical notes, and placebo and nocebo effects: Can documentation affect patient health?.Journal of Health Psychology Epub ahead of print.Mer information
- Blease, C., O'Neill, S., Walker, J., Hägglund, M., Torous, J. (2020). Sharing notes with mental health patients: balancing risks with respect.Lancet psychiatryMer information
- Hägglund, M., Helsing, E., Scandurra, I. (2020). Personalized Communication - People with Hearing Loss' Experiences of Using a National Patient Portal..Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 270: 1031-1035Mer information
- Peute, L., Lichtner, V., Baysari, M., Hägglund, M., Homco, J. et al. (2020). Challenges and Best Practices in Ethical Review of Human and Organizational Factors Studies in Health Technology: a Synthesis of Testimonies.IMIA Yearbook of Medical InformaticsMer information
- Davoody, N., Koch, S., Krakau, I., Hägglund, M.(2019). Accessing and sharing health information for post-discharge stroke care through a national health information exchange platform: a case study.BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 19(1)Mer information Ladda ner hela texten
- Hägglund, M., DesRoches, C., Petersen, C., Scandurra, I.(2019). Patients’ access to health records.BMJ. British Medical Journal, 367Mer information
- Riggare, S., Scott Duncan, T., Hvitfeldt, H., Hägglund, M.(2019). “You have to know why you're doing this”: a mixed methods study of the benefits and burdens of self-tracking in Parkinson's disease.BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 19(1)Mer information Ladda ner hela texten
- Sandén, U., Nilsson, F., Thulesius, H., Hägglund, M., Harrysson, L.(2019). Cancer, a relational disease: exploring the needs of relatives to cancer patients.International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 14(1)Mer information Ladda ner hela texten
- Scott Duncan, T., Riggare, S., Koch, S., Sharp, L., Hägglund, M.(2019). From Information Seekers to Innovators: Qualitative Analysis Describing Experiences of the Second Generation of E-Patients.Journal of Medical Internet Research, 21(8)Mer information Ladda ner hela texten
- Huvila, I., Eriksson-Backa, K., Moll, J., Myreteg, G., Hägglund, M.(2018). Differences in the experiences of reading medical records online: Elderly, Older and Younger Adults compared.Informaatiotutkimus, 37(3): 51-54Mer information
- Moll, J., Rexhepi, H., Cajander, Å., Grünloh, C., Huvila, I. et al.(2018). Patients' experiences of accessing their electronic health records: National patient survey in Sweden.Journal of Medical Internet Research, 20(11)Mer information Ladda ner hela texten
- Riggare, S., Hägglund, M.(2018). Precision Medicine in Parkinson's Disease -: Exploring Patient-Initiated Self-Tracking.Journal of Parkinson's Disease, 8(3): 441-446Mer information Ladda ner hela texten
- Bärkås, A., Scandurra, I., Hägglund, M.(2019). Analysis of Voluntary User Feedback of the Swedish National PAEHR Service..Ingår i: MEDINFO 2019: Health and Wellbeing e-Networks for All: Proceedings of the 17th World Congress on Medical and Health Informatics, 1126-1130Mer information Ladda ner hela texten
- Lindberg, M., Rosborg, S., Ramukumba, M., Hägglund, M.(2019). Adapting mHealth to Workflow - A Case Study in South Africa..Ingår i: Context Sensitive Health Informatics: Sustainability in Dynamic Ecosystems, 48-53Mer information Ladda ner hela texten
- Ramukumba, M., Hägglund, M.(2019). "I feel like a nurse and my clients learn more": mHealth, Capacity Building and Empowerment in Community Based Care..Ingår i: CSHI 2019, Context Sensitive Health Informatics, 23-24 August, 2019,Lille, France, 195-200Mer information Ladda ner hela texten
- Rosborg, S., Lindberg, M., Ramukumba, M., Jäderlund Hagstedt, L., Hägglund, M.(2019). Exploring mHealths Fit to Workflow in Homecare - A Case Study in Sweden..Ingår i: Context Sensitive Health Informatics: Sustainability in Dynamic Ecosystems, 54-59Mer information Ladda ner hela texten