<s>
eHealth	B-Application
(	O
also	O
written	O
e-health	B-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
relatively	O
recent	O
healthcare	O
practice	O
supported	O
by	O
electronic	O
processes	O
and	O
communication	O
,	O
dating	O
back	O
to	O
at	O
least	O
1999	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
can	O
also	O
include	O
health	O
applications	O
and	O
links	O
on	O
mobile	O
phones	O
,	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
mHealth	B-Device
or	I-Device
m-Health	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Electronic	B-Application
health	I-Application
record	I-Application
:	O
enabling	O
the	O
communication	O
of	O
patient	O
data	O
between	O
different	O
healthcare	O
professionals	O
(	O
GPs	O
,	O
specialists	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Telemedicine	B-Application
:	O
physical	O
and	O
psychological	O
diagnosis	O
and	O
treatments	O
at	O
a	O
distance	O
,	O
including	O
telemonitoring	O
of	O
patients	O
functions	O
and	O
videoconferencing	O
;	O
</s>
<s>
Telerehabilitation	B-Application
:	O
providing	O
rehabilitation	O
services	O
over	O
a	O
distance	O
through	O
telecommunications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Telesurgery	B-Application
:	O
use	O
robots	O
and	O
wireless	O
communication	O
to	O
perform	O
surgery	O
remotely	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Teledentistry	B-Application
:	O
exchange	O
clinical	O
information	O
and	O
images	O
over	O
a	O
distance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
mHealth	B-Device
or	I-Device
m-Health	I-Device
:	O
includes	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
mobile	O
devices	O
in	O
collecting	O
aggregate	O
and	O
patient-level	O
health	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
,	O
providing	O
healthcare	O
information	O
to	O
practitioners	O
,	O
researchers	O
,	O
and	O
patients	O
,	O
real-time	O
monitoring	O
of	O
patient	O
vitals	O
,	O
and	O
direct	O
provision	O
of	O
care	O
(	O
via	O
mobile	O
telemedicine	B-Application
)	O
;	O
</s>
<s>
Medical	O
research	O
using	O
grids	B-Architecture
:	O
powerful	O
computing	O
and	O
data	O
management	O
capabilities	O
to	O
handle	O
large	O
amounts	O
of	O
heterogeneous	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Oh	O
et	O
al.	O
,	O
in	O
a	O
2005	O
systematic	O
review	O
of	O
the	O
term	O
's	O
usage	O
,	O
offered	O
the	O
definition	O
of	O
eHealth	B-Application
as	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
technological	O
themes	O
in	O
health	O
today	O
,	O
more	O
specifically	O
based	O
on	O
commerce	O
,	O
activities	O
,	O
stakeholders	O
,	O
outcomes	O
,	O
locations	O
,	O
or	O
perspectives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
thing	O
that	O
all	O
sources	O
seem	O
to	O
agree	O
on	O
is	O
that	O
e-health	B-Application
initiatives	O
do	O
not	O
originate	O
with	O
the	O
patient	O
,	O
though	O
the	O
patient	O
may	O
be	O
a	O
member	O
of	O
a	O
patient	O
organization	O
that	O
seeks	O
to	O
do	O
this	O
,	O
as	O
in	O
the	O
e-Patient	O
movement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
eHealth	B-Application
literacy	O
is	O
defined	O
as	O
"	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
seek	O
,	O
find	O
,	O
understand	O
and	O
appraise	O
health	O
information	O
from	O
electronic	O
sources	O
and	O
apply	O
knowledge	O
gained	O
to	O
addressing	O
or	O
solving	O
a	O
health	O
problem.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
this	O
definition	O
,	O
eHealth	B-Application
literacy	O
encompasses	O
six	O
types	O
of	O
literacy	O
:	O
traditional	O
(	O
literacy	O
and	O
numeracy	O
)	O
,	O
information	O
,	O
media	O
,	O
health	O
,	O
computer	O
,	O
and	O
scientific	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Of	O
these	O
,	O
media	O
and	O
computer	O
literacies	O
are	O
unique	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
context	O
,	O
with	O
eHealth	B-Application
media	O
literacy	O
being	O
the	O
awareness	O
of	O
media	O
bias	O
or	O
perspective	O
,	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
discern	O
both	O
explicit	O
and	O
implicit	O
meaning	O
from	O
media	O
messages	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
derive	O
meaning	O
from	O
media	O
messages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Having	O
the	O
composite	O
skills	O
of	O
eHealth	B-Application
literacy	O
allows	O
health	O
consumers	O
to	O
achieve	O
positive	O
outcomes	O
from	O
using	O
the	O
Internet	O
for	O
health	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
eHealth	B-Application
literacy	O
has	O
the	O
potential	O
to	O
both	O
protect	O
consumers	O
from	O
harm	O
and	O
empower	O
them	O
to	O
fully	O
participate	O
in	O
informed	O
health-related	O
decision	O
making	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
People	O
with	O
high	O
levels	O
of	O
eHealth	B-Application
literacy	O
are	O
also	O
more	O
aware	O
of	O
the	O
risk	O
of	O
encountering	O
unreliable	O
information	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
On	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
the	O
extension	O
of	O
digital	O
resources	O
to	O
the	O
health	O
domain	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
eHealth	B-Application
literacy	O
can	O
also	O
create	O
new	O
gaps	O
between	O
health	O
consumers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
eHealth	B-Application
literacy	O
hinges	O
not	O
on	O
the	O
mere	O
access	O
to	O
technology	O
,	O
but	O
rather	O
on	O
the	O
skill	O
to	O
apply	O
the	O
accessed	O
knowledge	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
factors	O
blocking	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
e-health	B-Application
tools	O
from	O
widespread	O
acceptance	O
is	O
the	O
concern	O
about	O
privacy	O
issues	O
regarding	O
patient	O
records	O
,	O
most	O
specifically	O
the	O
EPR	O
(	O
Electronic	B-Application
patient	I-Application
record	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Of	O
the	O
forms	O
of	O
e-health	B-Application
already	O
mentioned	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
roughly	O
two	O
types	O
;	O
front-end	O
data	O
exchange	O
and	O
back-end	O
exchange	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Successful	O
e-health	B-Application
initiatives	O
such	O
as	O
e-Diabetes	O
have	O
shown	O
that	O
for	O
data	O
exchange	O
to	O
be	O
facilitated	O
either	O
at	O
the	O
front-end	O
or	O
the	O
back-end	O
,	O
a	O
common	O
thesaurus	O
is	O
needed	O
for	O
terms	O
of	O
reference	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
E-health	B-Application
manages	O
both	O
flows	O
of	O
information	O
,	O
while	O
ensuring	O
the	O
quality	O
of	O
the	O
data	O
exchange	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
these	O
types	O
of	O
routine	O
patients	O
,	O
front-end	O
e-health	B-Application
solutions	O
tend	O
to	O
be	O
relatively	O
easy	O
to	O
implement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mental	O
disorders	O
includes	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
conditions	O
such	O
as	O
alcohol	O
and	O
drug	O
use	O
disorders	O
,	O
mood	O
disorders	O
such	O
as	O
depression	O
,	O
dementia	O
and	O
Alzheimer	O
's	O
disease	O
,	O
delusional	O
disorders	O
such	O
as	O
schizophrenia	B-Application
and	O
anxiety	O
disorders	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
eHealth	B-Application
programs	O
have	O
been	O
found	O
to	O
be	O
effective	O
in	O
treating	O
borderline	O
personality	O
disorder	O
(	O
BPD	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
the	O
successor	O
to	O
telemedicine	B-Application
,	O
wherein	O
doctors	O
would	O
consult	O
and	O
treat	O
patients	O
remotely	O
via	O
telephone	O
or	O
fax	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Finally	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
also	O
synced	O
to	O
an	O
iPhone	B-Device
app	O
which	O
allows	O
for	O
tracking	O
and	O
sharing	O
of	O
personal	O
record	O
and	O
achievements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
currently	O
limited	O
evidence	O
suggesting	O
that	O
eHealth	B-Application
interventions	O
may	O
improve	O
dietary	O
sodium	O
intake	O
and	O
fluid	O
management	O
for	O
people	O
with	O
chronic	O
kidney	O
disease	O
(	O
CKD	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
So	O
,	O
more	O
large	O
and	O
higher	O
quality	O
research	O
studies	O
are	O
needed	O
to	O
understand	O
the	O
impact	O
of	O
eHealth	B-Application
on	O
the	O
health	O
of	O
people	O
with	O
CKD	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Knowledge	O
of	O
the	O
socio-economic	O
performance	O
of	O
eHealth	B-Application
is	O
limited	O
,	O
and	O
findings	O
from	O
evaluations	O
are	O
often	O
challenging	O
to	O
transfer	O
to	O
other	O
settings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Socio-economic	O
evaluations	O
of	O
some	O
narrow	O
types	O
of	O
mHealth	B-Device
can	O
rely	O
on	O
health	O
economic	O
methodologies	O
,	O
but	O
larger	O
scale	O
eHealth	B-Application
may	O
have	O
too	O
many	O
variables	O
,	O
and	O
tortuous	O
,	O
intangible	O
cause	O
and	O
effect	O
links	O
may	O
need	O
a	O
wider	O
approach	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
eHealth	B-Application
in	O
general	O
,	O
and	O
telemedicine	B-Application
in	O
particular	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
vital	O
resource	O
to	O
remote	O
regions	O
of	O
emerging	O
and	O
developing	O
countries	O
but	O
is	O
often	O
difficult	O
to	O
establish	O
because	O
of	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
communications	O
infrastructure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
many	O
regions	O
there	O
is	O
not	O
only	O
a	O
significant	O
lack	O
of	O
facilities	O
and	O
trained	O
health	O
professionals	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
no	O
access	O
to	O
eHealth	B-Application
because	O
there	O
is	O
also	O
no	O
internet	O
access	O
in	O
remote	O
villages	O
,	O
or	O
even	O
a	O
reliable	O
electricity	O
supply	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
connectivity	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
benefits	O
of	O
eHealth	B-Application
,	O
can	O
be	O
brought	O
to	O
these	O
regions	O
using	O
satellite	O
broadband	O
technology	O
,	O
and	O
satellite	O
is	O
often	O
the	O
only	O
solution	O
where	O
terrestrial	O
access	O
may	O
be	O
limited	O
,	O
or	O
poor	O
quality	O
,	O
and	O
one	O
that	O
can	O
provide	O
a	O
fast	O
connection	O
over	O
a	O
vast	O
coverage	O
area	O
.	O
</s>
