e-health is an emerging field in the intersection of medical informatics and public health, referring to health services and information delivered or enhanced through the Internet and related technologies.
In a broader sense, the term characterizes not only a technical development, but also a state-of-mind, a way of thinking, an attitude, and a commitment for networked, global thinking, to improve health care locally, regionally, and worldwide by using information and communication technology (Eysenbach 2001)
What is eHealth?...
The application of Internet and other related technologies in the healthcare industry to improve the access, efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of clinical and business processes utilized by healthcare organizations, practitioners, patients, and consumers to improve the health status of patients.
The scope of eHealth research (using, processing, sharing, controlling information) derived empirically from informatics.
Stakeholders would like eHealth research to include outcomes such as improved health or quality of life, but such research may be long term while changes in information technology are rapid.
Longer-term research questions need to be concerned with human behaviour and our use of information, rather than particular technologies..
