eHealth
The term "eHealth" originated in the 1990s,[1] initially conceived as "Internet medicine," but has since evolved to have a broader range of technologies and innovations aimed at enhancing healthcare delivery and accessibility.
For example, diabetes monitoring apps allow patients to track health metrics in real time, bridging the gap between home and clinical care.
[1][17][18] Oh et al., in a 2005 systematic review of the term's usage, offered the definition of eHealth as a set of technological themes in health today, more specifically based on commerce, activities, stakeholders, outcomes, locations, or perspectives.
While eHealth literacy involves the ability to use technology, it is extremely important to have the skills to critically evaluate online health information.
eHealth literacy has the potential to both protect consumers from harm and empower them to fully participate in informed health-related decision making.
A more multi-faceted approach is necessary for this age group, because they are more susceptible to chronic disease, contraindications of medication, and other age-related setbacks like forgetfulness.
Ehealth offers services that can be very helpful for all of these scenarios, making an elderly patient's quality of life substantially better with proper use.
[24] One of the factors hindering the widespread acceptance of e-health tools is the concern about privacy, particularly regarding EPRs (Electronic patient record).
Successful e-health initiatives such as e-Diabetes have shown that for data exchange to be facilitated either at the front-end or the back-end, a common thesaurus is needed for terms of reference.
[28][29] These services can range from providing information to offering peer support, computer-based programs, virtual applications, games, and real-time interaction with trained clinicians.
[35] E-mental health has a number of advantages such as being low cost, easily accessible and providing anonymity to users.
With almost all forms of technology, there will be unintended difficulties or malfunctions, which doesn't exclude tablets, computers, and wireless medical devices.
Another is iFightDepression[48] a multilingual, free to use, web-based tool for self-management of less severe forms of depression, for use under guidance of a GP or psychotherapist.
Freedom From Smoking[50] takes users through lessons that are grouped into modules that provide information and assignments to complete.
For example, an online self-directed therapy for problem gambling was developed to specifically test this as a method of treatment.
Cybermedicine is already being used in small projects where images are transmitted from a primary care setting to a medical specialist, who comments on the case and suggests which intervention might benefit the patient.
A field that lends itself to this approach is dermatology, where images of an eruption are communicated to a hospital specialist who determines if referral is necessary.
[54] The biggest benefit to self-monitoring devices is the elimination of the necessity for third party hospitals to run tests, which are both expensive and lengthy.
To add to the ease of the user interface, it includes both numeric and visual indicators of whether or not the individual has achieved his or her daily goal.
Although the blood glucose monitor allows the user to take action based on the results, measurements such as the pulse rate, EKG signals, and calories do not necessarily serve to actively guide an individual's personal healthcare management.
[55] The pandemic that impacted the entire world made it extremely difficult for vast amounts of people to receive adequate healthcare in person.
Elderly citizens and people with chronic health conditions were at more risk than the average healthy human, therefore they were more adversely affected than most.
[61] eHealth in general, and telemedicine in particular, is a vital resource to remote regions of emerging and developing countries but is often difficult to establish because of the lack of communications infrastructure.
[62] For example, in Benin, hospitals often can become inaccessible due to flooding during the rainy season[63] and across Africa, the low population density, along with severe weather conditions and the difficult financial situation in many African states, has meant that the majority of the African people are badly disadvantaged in medical care.
Telemedicine in Nepal is becoming popular tool to improve health care delivery in order to combat difficult landscape.
A majority of the total health expenditure in sub-Saharan Africa was paid out-of-pocket, which forces millions into poverty yearly.
This mobile platform provides full transparency of patients needs and allows access to medical products and the ability to efficiently manage their funding.
[65] While eHealth has become an indispensable facet of healthcare in the past 5 years, there are still barriers preventing it from reaching its full potential.
Socio-economic evaluations of some narrow types of mHealth can rely on health economic methodologies, but larger scale eHealth may have too many variables, and tortuous, intangible cause and effect links may need a wider approach.
