Highlights:
- E-health can improve quality and cost-effectiveness in primary care.
- E-health applications facilitate the storage and processing of medical
data.
- E-health has the potential to both increase and reduce inequalities in
health.
- Cyber security and legal infrastructure make e-health sustainable.
Background
Primary care assumes a vital responsibility in providing exceptional
healthcare that is easily accessible and economically viable for an
increasingly aging population burdened with multiple chronic ailments
and intricate health challenges. To effectively tackle these obstacles,
it is advisable for primary care practitioners to embrace innovative
practices, particularly those pertaining to e-health. By leveraging
e-health applications, primary care can potentially surmount the
challenges encountered when delivering care to individuals with complex
medical and psychosocial needs. Nonetheless, numerous unresolved
inquiries persist regarding the cost-effectiveness, integration into the
healthcare system, and the acceptance of e-health initiatives by
healthcare professionals
Definiton of e-Health
Beyond WHO’s provision of e-health, health services, and health
surveillance, the term encompasses the utilization of information and
communication technologies (ICT) to facilitate healthcare support,
health literature, information dissemination, and research for health
education. Telehealth encompasses a range of interventions, including
telemedicine, mobile health (mHealth), electronic medical records
(eMR/eHR), big data management for health, wearable devices, and even
the application of artificial intelligence.
Substantial evidence demonstrates the expanding impact of e-health on
healthcare delivery worldwide, leading to enhanced efficiency and
responsiveness of health systems to address people’s needs and
expectations1 . It is widely acknowledged that
e-health applications can play a pivotal role in achieving overarching
global health objectives, such as Universal Health Inclusion and the
attainment of Sustainable Development Goals
Benefits of e-Health
E-health initiatives are anticipated to yield numerous direct and
indirect advantages for individual and public health. The implementation
of e-health services has revealed three potential benefits: