E-Health: A Global Approach with Extensive Semantic Variation

In recent years, there has been considerable attention towards the development of information and communication technology (ICT) in health care delivery known as 'E-Health'. The term "E-Health" is almost a new concept and the E-Health projects mainly aim to improve service delivery to people, though different countries might have different approaches in using E-Health. The focus of this study is to review factors influencing the development of E-Health projects, as these factors could lead to an extensive semantic variation. This study reviews the E-Health status in different countries based on existing reports and documents about E-health projects in developed and developing countries and also based on the reports and documents provided by WHO, International Telecommunication Union (ITU); and World Bank. The review of the documents showed that the E-Health status in different countries is depended upon three key factors including the potential of ICT, economic capacity and the level of health status. The review of the documents indicated that there might be different meanings for the concept of E-Health in different countries, and the semantic variation in E-Health concept is related to the level of E-Health developments and implementations. Therefore, developing a clear definition of E-Health is needed.