E-health encompasses all kinds of electronic health data
exchanges; it is an evolving field in the juncture of
business, public health, and medical informatics, stating
the informational and health services heightened or
distributed through the Internet. This term exemplifies
technological commitment towards worldwide health care
action.
According to WHO (World Health Organization),
e-health has three core domains:
- The use of e-business and e-commerce practices in numerous health management systems
- Using the power of e-commerce and IT to improve public health services, for example, through training and education of health workers
- Transfer of health information, for health consumers and health professionals, through telecommunications and the Internet.
Characteristics of E-Health
Do you want to know what e-health should consist of? Here are some characteristics:
- Evidence-based: Every e-health intervention should be evidence-based in the sense that their competence and value must not be presumed but verified by arduous scientific assessment. Yet, a lot of work needs to be done.
- Improving the quality of care: Increasing efficiency does not reduce the cost; however, it simultaneously enhances the quality of services. E-health expands the quality of health care by allowing comparison between different providers. It will concentrate on quality assurance, directing patient streams to high-quality suppliers.
- Efficiency: An assurance of e-health is to upturn efficiency in health care, therefore decreasing costs. Avoidable therapeutic or diagnostic intermediations can reduce costs through better communication potentials between patient participation and health care institutions.
- Encouragement: E-health offers encouragement for a new association between health experts and patients, towards the suitable corporation, where you make mutual choices.
- Empowerment of patients and consumers: By making the knowledge base of personal electronic and medical records available to the users over the Internet, e-health opens new opportunities for patient-focused medications and enables evidence-based patient choice.
- Extending: E-health extends health care opportunities; it enables consumers to achieve health services online from global providers. All the facilities range from simple suggestions/advice to compound medications or intermediations.
- Education: It includes educating physicians through numerous online sources (such as medical education) and consumers (personalized preventive information, health education for consumers).
Benefits and Limitations of E-Health
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5608867/
https://www.who.int/westernpacific/activities/using-e-health-and-information-technology-to-improve-health
https://www.government.nl/topics/ehealth/benefits-of-ehealth
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269401037_The_Benefits_and_Challenges_of_e-Health_Applications_A_Content_Analysis_of_the_South_African_context