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ITU-T Study Group 16 Work on E-health |
| Definition of some terms related to e-health technologies |
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| Term |
Definition |
|
E-health |
[Mitchel/1999]
The combined use in the health sector of electronic communication and
information technology (digital data transmitted, stored and retrieved
electronically) for clinical, educational and administrative purposes,
both at the local site and at a distance.
[Eysenbach/2001] “e-health is an emerging field in the intersection of
medical informatics, public health and business, 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.” |
|
Health Telematics |
[WHO/1997] a composite term for health-related activities, services and
systems, carried out over a distance by means of information and
communications technologies, for the purposes of global health
promotion, disease control, and health care, as well as education,
management, and research for health.
[G7/1999] the combined use of informatics and telecommunications as
applied to health delivery. |
|
Telehealth |
[ACDHFS/1996]
The application of information technology and telecommunications for
diagnostic and treatment services, educational and support services and
the organization and management of health services (including health
information management and decision support systems).
[USDHHS/2001] The use of electronic information and communication
technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and
professional health-related education, public health and health
administration. |
|
Interoperability |
[ ] In
the telecommunications sense, interoperability is the capability of
systems to talk to each other either directly or via an adaptation
function. In the e-health context it also relates to the
interchangeability of records across systems, which many times involve
handling different nomenclatures. |
|
Telemedicine |
[WHO/1997] The delivery of health care services, where distance is a
critical factor, by health care professionals using information and
communications technologies for the exchange of valid information for
diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease and injuries, research
and evaluation, and for the continuing education of health care
providers, all in the interest of advancing the health of individuals
and their communities. |
References:
[WHO/1997] World Health Organization unpublished document, WHO/DGO/98.01, A
Health Telematics policy: in support of the WHO’s Health-for-All strategy for
global health development, report of the WHO Group Consultation on Health
Telematics, 11-16, December, Geneva, 1997.
[G7/1999] G7 Information –society Initiative, The evaluation of the
cost-effectiveness of Telemedicine; G8 Global Healthcare Applications Programme
subproject 4, third Forum Meeting, Melbourne, Australia, Feb. 1999
[ACDHFS/1996] Australian Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services,
Project for rural health communications and information technologies, Telehealth
in rural and remote Australia, 1996
[USDHHS/2001] US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and
Service Administration, Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, 2001
Telemedicine Report to Congress, Jan 2001.
[Mitchel/1999] Mitchell J, From Telehealth to e-health: the unstoppable rise of
e-health, Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts,
1999
[Eysenbach/2001] Gunther Eysenbach - Editorial in Journal of Medical Internet
Research 2001;3(2):e20
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