Authors:
Lena Otto
;
Lorenz Harst
;
Hannes Schlieter
;
Bastian Wollschlaeger
;
Peggy Richter
and
Patrick Timpel
Affiliation:
Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
Keyword(s):
eHealth, Telemedicine, Telehealth, mHealth, Terminological Ontology.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Biomedical Engineering
;
Cloud Computing
;
e-Health
;
Health Information Systems
;
Healthcare Management Systems
;
Platforms and Applications
;
Telemedicine
Abstract:
The impact of digitization on healthcare gives rise to interdisciplinary concepts such as eHealth. However, achieving improvements in research and innovation requires a valid and unified understanding of the common terminology. Yet, a heterogeneous usage of different terms regarding eHealth can be observed. This leads to a deficient communication between researchers and practitioners, impeding the diffusion, i. e. extensive practical implementation of innovative health concepts. To address this problem, our aim is to consolidate and harmonize eHealth-related terminology. To this end, a literature analysis was conducted to identify established definitions and to formulate a terminological ontology for the related concepts. The current results show a consistent definition of the terms digitization, ICT, and telematics. In contrast, telemedicine, telehealth, eHealth, and mHealth were identified as conflictingly defined terms. Consequently, the proposed ontology serves as a first guidanc
e to support an adequate use of the included terms. Further systematic research of terms is needed to verify the current concept of the ontology. Additionally, specifying the connection between the ontology and the elements of healthcare systems is required for a deeper understanding of the influence of digitization in healthcare.
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