IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i21p14322-d960951.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Accelerated Digitalization of the Epidemiological Measures: Overcoming the Technological and Process Complexities of Establishing the EU Digital COVID Certificate in Slovenia

Author

Listed:
  • Dalibor Stanimirovic

    (Faculty of Public Administration, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia)

  • Lucija Tepej Jocic

    (National Institute of Public Health, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia)

Abstract

Objective: In order to facilitate free movement of EU citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic, in early 2021 the European Commission proposed the establishment of an EU Digital COVID Certificate. By 1 July 2021, all EU Member States have successfully implemented the EU Digital COVID Certificate. The technological and procedural complexities encountered while establishing the EU Digital COVID Certificate in Slovenia are reviewed in this article. Methods: This research employs a case study methodology. Controlled focus group sessions comprising eighteen eminent experts (not including medical and other expert groups involved in the epidemiological measures) in charge of the EU Digital COVID Certificate and other national eHealth services in Slovenia were used as the primary data collection technique. Focus group discussions were preceded by an all-encompassing review of the literature and the examination of numerous materials covering the EU Digital COVID Certificate-related content. Results: The study findings reveal that the technological and process complexities are associated with the fragmented data sources and complicated and abundant business rules used for the generation and verification of the EU Digital COVID Certificate. However, despite the technological, process and other impediments that arose during the establishment of the EU Digital COVID Certificate in Slovenia, it can be argued that the approach used and stakeholder commitment, especially in critical pandemic conditions, offered the much-desired harmonisation and application of this digital service at the EU level. Conclusions: The study highlights the importance of a sound and coherent model for the impending establishment of cross-border eHealth services and suggests that the ad hoc implementation of such challenging and delicate digital solutions in the future will only be feasible with the prior construction of robust and interoperable digital health infrastructures across the EU Member States.

Suggested Citation

  • Dalibor Stanimirovic & Lucija Tepej Jocic, 2022. "Accelerated Digitalization of the Epidemiological Measures: Overcoming the Technological and Process Complexities of Establishing the EU Digital COVID Certificate in Slovenia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-16, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:21:p:14322-:d:960951
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/14322/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/14322/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Haradhan Kumar MOHAJAN, 2018. "Qualitative research methodology in social sciences and related subjects," Journal of Economic Development, Environment and People, Alliance of Central-Eastern European Universities, vol. 7(1), pages 23-48, March.
    2. Silvia Ussai & Marco Pistis & Eduardo Missoni & Beatrice Formenti & Benedetta Armocida & Tatiana Pedrazzi & Francesco Castelli & Lorenzo Monasta & Baldassare Lauria & Ilaria Mariani, 2022. "“Immuni” and the National Health System: Lessons Learnt from the COVID-19 Digital Contact Tracing in Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-7, June.
    3. Wang, Binhua & Ping, Yuan, 2022. "A comparative analysis of COVID-19 vaccination certificates in 12 countries/regions around the world: Rationalising health policies for international travel and domestic social activities during the p," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(8), pages 755-762.
    4. Marios Constantinou & Antonios Kagialis & Maria Karekla, 2021. "COVID-19 Scientific Facts vs. Conspiracy Theories: Is Science Failing to Pass Its Message?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-10, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mohajan, Haradhan, 2021. "Cradle to Cradle is a Sustainable Economic Policy for the Better Future," MPRA Paper 111334, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 10 Oct 2021.
    2. Mohajan, Devajit & Mohajan, Haradhan, 2023. "Glaserian Grounded Theory and Straussian Grounded Theory: Two Standard Qualitative Research Approaches in Social Science," MPRA Paper 117017, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 20 Feb 2023.
    3. Joseph Kolawole Abon & Emmanuel Jean-Francois, 2022. "Faculty Initiative and Level of Experience in a U.S. University in Internationalizing their Curriculum to Foster Student Glocal Competence," Eurasian Journal of Social Sciences, Eurasian Publications, vol. 10(3), pages 178-196.
    4. Pang, Qingyun & Hao, Fei & Xiao, Honggen & Bao, Jigang, 2024. "Community empowerment: Pro-poor tourism income distribution," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    5. Sonia Chien-I Chen & Chenglian Liu & Zhenyuan Wang & Farid Arya, 2022. "Innovative Strategies to Fuel Organic Food Business Growth: A Qualitative Research," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-22, March.
    6. Mohajan, Haradhan, 2020. "Quantitative Research: A Successful Investigation in Natural and Social Sciences," MPRA Paper 105149, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 15 Nov 2020.
    7. Mohajan, Devajit & Mohajan, Haradhan, 2022. "Memo Writing Procedures in Grounded Theory Research Methodology," MPRA Paper 115246, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 10 Aug 2022.
    8. Mohammed Mashary Alnaim & Emad Noaime, 2024. "Spatial Dynamics and Social Order in Traditional Towns of Saudi Arabia’s Nadji Region: The Role of Neighborhood Clustering in Urban Morphology and Decision-Making Processes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-23, March.
    9. Mohajan, Haradhan, 2021. "Global COVID-19 Pandemic: Prevention and Protection Techniques," MPRA Paper 106923, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 19 Jan 2021.
    10. Marilena Mousoulidou & Michailina Siakalli & Andri Christodoulou & Marios Argyrides, 2023. "Conspiracy Theories, Trust in Science, and Knowledge during the Third Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Cyprus," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(17), pages 1-15, September.
    11. Mohajan, Haradhan, 2022. "Four Waves of Feminism: A Blessing for Global Humanity," MPRA Paper 114328, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 09 Jul 2022.
    12. Mr. Shekou Ansumana Nuni & Mr. Ansumana Feika, 2022. "The Adoption of Social Media and Internet as a Tool for Improving SMEs Performance in Sierra Leone; A Case Study of SMEs in Freetown Central Business District (CBD)," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 6(12), pages 328-334, December.
    13. Maria Lúcia Pato, 2024. "A Decade of Olive Oil Tourism: A Bibliometric Survey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-14, February.
    14. Natalia Kowalska & Ewelina Brodawka & Adam Smoliński & Katarzyna Zarębska, 2022. "The European Education Initiative as a Mitigation Mechanism for Energy Transition," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-18, September.
    15. Mohajan, Devajit & Mohajan, Haradhan, 2022. "Sensitivity Analysis among Commodities and Prices: A Utility Maximization Perception," MPRA Paper 116232, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 15 Dec 2022.
    16. Flavia Beccia & Andrea Di Pilla & Francesco Andrea Causio & Bruno Federico & Maria Lucia Specchia & Carlo Favaretti & Stefania Boccia & Gianfranco Damiani, 2022. "Narrative Review of the COVID-19 Pandemic’s First Two Years in Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-18, November.
    17. Mohajan, Devajit & Mohajan, Haradhan, 2023. "Families of Grounded Theory: A Theoretical Structure for Novel Researchers," MPRA Paper 116752, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 24 Jan 2023.
    18. Mohajan, Haradhan, 2022. "An Overview on the Feminism and Its Categories," MPRA Paper 114625, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 02 Jul 2022.
    19. Mohajan, Devagit & Mohajan, Haradhan, 2022. "Profit Maximization Strategy in an Industry: A Sustainable Procedure," MPRA Paper 114675, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 21 Jun 2022.
    20. Mohajan, Devajit & Mohajan, Haradhan, 2023. "Mathematical Model for Nonlinear Budget Constraint: Economic Activities on Increased Budget," MPRA Paper 117299, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 17 Mar 2023.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:21:p:14322-:d:960951. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.