Closing the Gap: E-Health and Optimization of Patient Care

Introduction

Over the past decade the interest in e-health has risen very quickly. E-health is the application and extensive use of information and communication technology in all areas of health care, from delivery of professional care to patients to the life-long education of citizens and medical professionals. In the World Health Assembly resolution on e-health in 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) has defined e-health as the cost-effective and secure use of information and communication technologies in support of health and health-related fields, including healthcare services, health surveillance, health literature, and health education (WHO, 2005). Despite the fact that almost all recognize the WHO as a world leading authority, responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, setting norms and standards, etc., and all its members respect its decisions, the term e-health in not accepted worldwide. Thus, before we begin it is necessary to clarify the confusion in terminology.