Pan-European eGovernment and eHealth Services in Slovenia

In 2009 we conducted a study on pan-European electronic government services that concentrated on eGovernment and eHealth. First, qualitative interviews were performed to determine key areas of priority and essential problems in this area; for a small country such as Slovenia, not all topics may be equally relevant. In addition, a telephone survey was conducted in individuals between the ages of 18 and 75 years. Not surprisingly, the respondents showed the most interest in pan-European eHealth services, remote access to health data, and in certification of education - the process of obtaining degrees (in that order). The least interest was shown in the establishment of online enterprises, and for the recognition of Slovenian public administration certificates in European Union member states (and vice versa). However, the interest for e-services in the realm of public administration is quite high. This interest in public administration services is connected to age (younger respondents show less interest) and employment status (students and the retired show less interest than do the employed and unemployed). The interest for public administration e-services is therefore linked to specific life situations. Accordingly, it is not surprising that interest is higher among those who most frequently travel to other EU countries. As for the use of public administration services in other EU countries, it is not very frequent - less than a tenth of respondents used it, more than half of them online. The countries where respondents most frequently use these services are Germany, Italy, and Austria. Considering the frequency of use, the order is reversed: Austria is in first place, then Italy and Germany, which shows that Austria has achieved the highest level of development of public administration e-services. In comparison to similar research undertaken by Capgemini worldwide, our survey showed a higher level of interest for electronic managing health insurance, recognition of education or other qualifications, and recognition of marriage and birth certificates. Among the respondents who lived abroad a month or longer, the interest for e-public administration domains in general is higher than for the respondents in the Capgemini survey. An exception is in the tax field, in which our respondents are less interested than the Capgemini respondents.