Key Topic Guide Series - E-Health / Consumers & Health Care
Definitions | White
Papers | Articles | Recommended
Sources | Useful Links | Organizations
| Government | Patient Support
E-Health is a term in
increasingly common usage. Yet, as is the case for many new paradigms,
it means different things to different people. As the Consortium
seeks to provide practical resources to assist its members in both
grappling with and benefiting from technological advances, defining
the term "e-health" seems a useful place to start. The
following are definitions found in scanning the literature on "e-health."
Ehealth - "the
use of emerging information and communication technology, especially
the Internet, to improve or enable health and health care."
-- Thomas R Eng, The eHealth Landscape: A Terrain Map of Emerging
Information and Communication Technologies in Health and Health
Care, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2001 - This publication
is available online at www.rwjf.org.
E-health - "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."
-- Eysenbach G. What is e-health? Journal of Medical Internet
Research 2001; 3(2):e20 - www.jmir.org/2001/2/e20.
Consortium monitors
- "Any use of the Internet or related technology to improve:
the health and wellness of the population; the quality of health
care services and outcomes; efficiencies in health care services
or administration."
-- Steve Staudenmeir, Arthur Andersen, 2001
E-Health - "The
shift in the nation's attention, resources and interest toward Internet-related
healthcare activities, often called "e-health", is dramatic
and a most significant development in the healthcare environment"
It is becoming commonplace for healthcare systems to deploy an extranet
and intranet, and using the Internet, create seamless access to
data across a number of separate and different systems. An intranet
can be very useful in improving the flow of information within an
organization and can appear seamless to end-users. To connect the
healthcare organization to its business partners, an extranet (the
use of a shared network) supports users needs to communicate seamlessly
and securely. As a public network, the Internet, enables an open
flow of global communication and knowledge sharing. The sum of these
three "nets" is the movement of healthcare organizations
closer to a paperless enterprise in which access to information
is enhanced through the use of databases and groupware collaboratively.
In the very near future, healthcare will witness the convergence
of all three nets into one network."
-- e-Health, Issue Summary, Definition and History of eHealth,
Joint Healthcare Information Technology Alliance (JHITA), 2000
Alliance of Community
Health Plans (www.achp.org),
Promoting Prevention Through Information Technology: Assessment
of Information Technology in ACHP Plans, February 2003
This is a report based
on a survey conducted by ACHP of member health plans' use of information
technology (IT) to support preventive health care services. The
report is based on responses from ten member health plans, providing
a "snapshot" of the use of information technology, rather than
a generalizable view of all health plans. There were five key
findings identified: prompt and reminder systems are used; patients
in need of preventive care for particular medical conditions are
identified via IT solutions; clinical guidelines and administrative
data are made available to assist medical decision-making; there
is data-sharing among providers and members; and electronic medical
records (EMRs) are increasingly being used. Barriers to adoption
and future developments are also analyzed.
Greene, Kate, "Doctor Database: New search technology could help patients and doctors locate life-saving treatements," The Wall Street Journal, April 8, 2006.
-- Read fulltext (requires subscription)
Vascellaro, Jessica A. "Web Sites Make Health Searches Easier: New Engines Focus on Content From Select Medical Sources, Not Just Broad Lists of Links," The Wall Street Journal, March 21, 2006, D1.
--Read fulltext (requires subscription)
CAPHIS Top 100 Trusted
Websites
http://caphis.mlanet.org/consumer/index.html
The Medical Library Association's Consumer and Patient Health Information
Section (CAPHIS) publicizes a list of the "Top 100 List" of "websites
you can trust", as well as its subset, "Top Ten Most Useful Websites"
These lists are available in the CAPHIS section of the Medical Library
Association website. The criteria used to evaluate the quality of
these websites include: credibility, sponsorship/authorship, content,
audience, currency, disclosure, purpose, links, design, interactivity
and caveats.
Consumer Health
Treadwell Library, Massachusetts General Hospital
http://www.mgh.harvard.edu/library/default.asp?
(click from Consumer tab at top)
The Treadwell Library is one of a number of hospital libraries that
serve not only the professional community working within the hospital
but also patients and consumers. The Consumer section of the Library
webpage includes resources licensed for the MGH Community including
Well Connected: Conditions and Concerns, A-Z reports, which
includes consumer information on roughly 85 conditions, many written
by Hospital-affiliated authors. This section also links to support
lists and chatrooms for cancer patients, memory disorder suffers
and neurology patients (BrainTalk
Communities Self-Help Support Groups)
eMedicine
http://www.emedicine.com
Launched in 1996, www.eMedicine.com
comprises the largest and most current Clinical Knowledge Base
available to physicians and health professionals. Nearly 10,000
physician authors and editors contribute to the eMedicine Clinical
Knowledge Base, which contains articles on 7,000 diseases and disorders.
The evidence-based content-updated 24/7-provides the latest practice
guidelines in 62 medical specialties. eMedicine's professional content
undergoes 4 levels of physician peer review plus an additional review
by a PharmD.
Pew Internet &
American Life Project
http://www.pewinternet.org
Ferguson Report
http://www.fergusonreport.com
National Information Center on Health Services Research & Health Care Technology
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hsrinfo/hsrsites.html#Informatics
Links to health informatics websites
SureScripts
http://www.surescripts.com/
The Alexandria, VA-based vendor has a map on its web site, showing states with favorable regulations, making progress toward the regulations, or unfavorable regulations. The vendor hopes to get all states to accept electronic prescriptions by the end of 2005.
Health e-Technologies
Initiative
http://www.hetinitiative.org
The Health e-Technologies Initiative is a National Program Office (NPO) of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that "supports research which evaluates the effectiveness of interactive e-Health applications for health behavior change and disease management."
American Medical Informatics Association
http://www.amia.org
AMIA is a source of contacts within the health informatics community, white papers, conferences and training opportunities.
Agency for Health Care
Research and Quality
http://www.ahrq.gov
The AHRQ has developed the Q-Pack of quality-related consumer information
materials. These materials which can be downloaded from the AHRQ's
website include Quick Tips sheets on the following topics: getting
medical tests; getting a prescription; planning for surgery; talking
with your doctor. There is also a patient fact sheet "20 Tips to
Help Prevent Medical Errors", "Now You Have a Diagnosis: What's
Next?", and "Your Guide to Choosing Quality Health Care."
Medically Induced Trauma
Support Services
http://www.mitss.org
MITSS is a not-for-profit
organization based in Mansfield, MA that seeks to promote communication
and to provide support services to individuals who have been affected
by a Medically Induced Trauma. The organization offers both psychologist-
and peer-led supports groups. It also offers services to medical
professionals affected by Medically Induced Trauma.
BrainTalk Communities
Self-Help Support Groups
http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/
This web site, sponsored Massachusetts General Hospital, provides support lists and chatrooms for cancer patients, memory disorder sufferers and neurology patients.
Association of Cancer Online Organizations
www.acor.org
Caring Bridge
www.caringbridge.com
Health Diaries
www.healthdiaries.com
CarePages
www.carepages.com
This page last updated December 1, 2006
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