AZ E-EGÉSZSÉGÜGY HOLISZTIKUS MEGKÖZELÍTÉSE
A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO E-HEALTH. AN ATTEMPT TO CREATE A COMPREHENSIVE DEFINITION

Author(s): Nikolett Lilla Lengyel
Subject(s): Theory of Communication
Published by: Scientia Kiadó
Keywords: e-health; telemedicine; technology centricity; public health;
Summary/Abstract: Since the emergence of digital signalling, a new concept, e-health, has entered the public domain, encompassing healthcare based on online connections (Borbás et al. n.d., Khandpur 2017). Despite the technological differences, the terms telemedicine and e-health are often treated as synonyms, or the latter is referredto as part of telemedicine. The aim of this paper is to argue for the use of e-health as a stand-alone term, highlighting its added value compared to telemedicine. With the rise of the Internet, new features (and new sub-themes) have emergedin the health system that were little or not relevant in the traditional telemedicine era. These issues legitimize the use of e-health as a distinct concept as the late modern equivalent of telemedicine. In this thesis, I will therefore review new attributes and sub-themes emerging in relation to traditional telemedicine, based on relevant literature in English, German, and Hungarian: the technology centricity, the advancement of the field ofresearch and development within telemedicine, the changing information habits of the Internet, the user skills required for effective Internet use, the changing role of healthcare providers, and the increasing preventive efforts of public health. The paper also discusses the emerging problems and barriers that arise from the rapid development of e-health and that have yet to be addressed.

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