E-Health

Background

The e-health revolution was ignited by the advent of Internet technology and its numerous ramifications [Page 334]in the late 20th century, along with the recognition of the advantages to adapting and adopting it in healthcare delivery and research. It encompasses applications in the domains of public health, preventive medicine, patient diagnosis, management and care, consumer-oriented health awareness, healthcare business management, professional clinical informatics, electronic clinical records, consumer health informatics, and health policy formulation and implementation. E-health is an effective, fast, and convenient medium for local and global education and communication on health, healthcare delivery, health administration, and health policy issues. The backbone of e-health is a combination of the computer and the Internet, along with a number of technologies dependent on—or related to—their use, including, but not limited to, interactive communication via the World Wide Web, satellite connections, digital TV, health kiosks, wireless networks, palm technologies, CD-ROMs and DVDs, virtual reality (i.e., for remote/intercontinental surgery), and nanotechnology.

Numerous stakeholders are involved in e-health supply and use: consumers, advocacy and not-forprofit health organizations, community-based organizations, healthcare organizations such as hospitals and clinics, the health insurance industry, healthcare administrators, clinicians, developers and suppliers of e-health applications, public health programs, and public and private health policymakers and funders. The main purpose of e-health is to provide more efficient, cost-effective, convenient, interactive, interconnected, evidence-based services that benefit all parties involved.

Most e-health tools are designed for specific functions serving defined groups of people at the individual, organizational, or population level, with some overlap. Personal health functions may include the provision of health information, promotion of behavior change or prevention strategies, provision of resources for self-management of health, and formation of online communities and support groups. In healthcare provision and administration, tools are used for disease management, decision-making support, personnel and financial management, maintenance of electronic clinical records, transmission and sharing of health data and reports, and creation of interconnected networks that streamline healthcare delivery in a cost-effective manner.

Uses

E-health is not confined to healthcare delivery; it also applies to public health governance, finance, education, research, and health-related economic activities. Electronic media are increasingly used for dissemination of information for public health promotion and awareness, medical education, promotion of biomedical research and evidence-based medicine, and e-learning for healthcare professionals. Health information systems are used in disease surveillance; for maintaining databases for research and administration; and in financial, management, monitoring, evaluation, and logistical applications pertaining to healthcare. In health research, electronic databases such as population registers have galvanized epidemiological research, with immense value for health policy formulation. Informatics tools are used to guide the selection of appropriate and cost-effective priorities for policymakers. Geographical information systems are gaining popularity as tools for spatial projection and mapping of health concerns to help in making policy decisions and targeting outreach initiatives. In the field of clinical medicine and patient care, e-health has made enormous strides, particularly in developed nations, where capacity exists to support such applications. Healthcare delivery technologies support diagnostics, health decision support systems, treatment, electronic clinical communications tools (e-bookings, referrals, and discharges), electronic networks, telemedicine, teleconsultation, telesurgery, robotic surgery, and electronic medical records, among other rapidly expanding options. The pharmaceutical and nursing fields are also using systems tailored to their needs.

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