An interesting paper on the topic of e-health has been published by the Cyber Studies Programme. This paper provides concrete policy recommendations that are applicable to the diversity of applications—and their various users—that fall under the very broad concept
of e-health. It is important to note that the users, payers, and beneficiaries of a certain application can be entirely different entities. An example of this reality is proxy use, in which family members or carers rely on information and communications technologies (ICT) to help dependent persons.
The authors invite policymakers and health practitioners to reflect on ways in which the recommendations of this paper could be applied to achieve their respective purposes. The paper will argue that while e-health efforts generally focus on technological innovation, the problems they address also have a strong human component that needs to be strengthened at both the individual and the systems levels.
The Cyber Studies Programme seeks to create a new body of knowledge that clarifies the consequences of information technology for the structures and processes of political systems. It is hosted by the Centre for International Studies in the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford.
The full paper is available here.
