What exactly is eHealth? I don’t want my doctor to be replaced by an application.

The World Health Organization defines eHealth simply as “the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for health”. Healthcare professionals will certainly not be replaced by technology any time soon, but the use of information exchange technologies can help in many ways:

• Patient-centred approach results in knowledgeable and empowered patients.
• Healthcare professionals can focus most of their attention on the patient rather than filling in forms.
• Patients receive quality care because creating, storing and sharing digital information avoids duplication of clinical procedures.
• Patients experience reduced waiting times due to online registration.
• Pharmacists can minimise their administrative paper trail burden by using ePrescription services.
• Analysis of health data helps innovation.
• Supports disease prevention.

Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a core element, allowing the collection of information about care events and from different health care providers. This results in a single, comprehensive EHR for each individual, which eases collaboration between different health care institutions and practitioners in a transparent way. The goal of eHealth is to ensure secure access to information about patient health at the right time and the right place, and thus to ensure the continuity and quality of healthcare services for better health outcomes.