TABLE 1 Digital health terminology and definitions used in this Monograph
Terminology Definitions
Big data Extremely large datasets, which may be complex, multidimensional,
unstructured and heterogeneous and which may be analysed
computationally to reveal patterns, trends and associations [33]
Digital health An umbrella term that refers to technologies that assist in providing
healthcare services and information
Digital health framework A structured strategy for digital transformation of healthcare services
aiming to establish an efficient interaction among information coming
from informal care, formal care and biomedical research, both for
healthcare delivery and other purposes (e.g. quality assurance,
research) [34]
Digital health literacy The ability to seek, find, understand and appraise health information
from electronic sources and apply the knowledge gained to addressing
or solving a health problem [35] sometimes referred to as e-health
literacy
e-Health Electronic health comprises the provision of healthcare products and
services using information and communication technology [2]
Electronic health record Electronic records of interactions with healthcare systems often used
interchangeably with electronic medical records and electronic
patient records
Internet of Things A network of physical devices and other items, embedded with electronics,
software, sensors and network connectivity, which enables these
objects to collect and exchange data [36] the application of the
Internet of Things to medicine is termed the “Medical Internet
of Things”
m-Health A sub-segment of e-health, m-health can be considered as the use of
smart or mobile communication devices, such as smartphones and
tablets, for the provision of health and well-being services and
information [2]
Medical assistive robot An autonomous or semi-autonomous machine equipped with advanced
sensors, actuators and artificial intelligence modules, employed in
healthcare contexts to perform assistive functionalities social robots are
designed with anthropomorphic features to improve their ability
to interact with humans
Medical device An instrument, apparatus, appliance, software, implant, reagent, material
or other article intended by the manufacturer to be used, alone or in
combination, for human beings for one or more of the following specific
medical purposes: diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, prediction,
prognosis, treatment or alleviation of disease diagnosis, monitoring,
treatment, alleviation of, or compensation for, an injury or disability [37]
Personal health records Online systems that include collections of patient healthcare and medical
data, which utilise health informatics standards to enable patients to
share, organise and manage these data according to their own views
[38] often linked with m-health
Telehealth Often used interchangeably with telemedicine, but telehealth
encompasses a broader scope of technologies and healthcare providers
than telemedicine, which refers specifically to clinical health services [2]
Telemedicine The provision of healthcare services and medical information using
innovative technologies, especially information and communication
technologies, in situations where the health professional and patient (or
two health professionals) are not in the same location it includes any
remote interaction between patients and healthcare professionals, and
between healthcare professionals themselves, whether synchronous or
asynchronous [2]
Telemonitoring, teleconsultations,
telerehabilitation
Specific modalities within telehealth
https://doi.org/10.1183/2312508X.10016623 xi
Terminology Definitions
Big data Extremely large datasets, which may be complex, multidimensional,
unstructured and heterogeneous and which may be analysed
computationally to reveal patterns, trends and associations [33]
Digital health An umbrella term that refers to technologies that assist in providing
healthcare services and information
Digital health framework A structured strategy for digital transformation of healthcare services
aiming to establish an efficient interaction among information coming
from informal care, formal care and biomedical research, both for
healthcare delivery and other purposes (e.g. quality assurance,
research) [34]
Digital health literacy The ability to seek, find, understand and appraise health information
from electronic sources and apply the knowledge gained to addressing
or solving a health problem [35] sometimes referred to as e-health
literacy
e-Health Electronic health comprises the provision of healthcare products and
services using information and communication technology [2]
Electronic health record Electronic records of interactions with healthcare systems often used
interchangeably with electronic medical records and electronic
patient records
Internet of Things A network of physical devices and other items, embedded with electronics,
software, sensors and network connectivity, which enables these
objects to collect and exchange data [36] the application of the
Internet of Things to medicine is termed the “Medical Internet
of Things”
m-Health A sub-segment of e-health, m-health can be considered as the use of
smart or mobile communication devices, such as smartphones and
tablets, for the provision of health and well-being services and
information [2]
Medical assistive robot An autonomous or semi-autonomous machine equipped with advanced
sensors, actuators and artificial intelligence modules, employed in
healthcare contexts to perform assistive functionalities social robots are
designed with anthropomorphic features to improve their ability
to interact with humans
Medical device An instrument, apparatus, appliance, software, implant, reagent, material
or other article intended by the manufacturer to be used, alone or in
combination, for human beings for one or more of the following specific
medical purposes: diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, prediction,
prognosis, treatment or alleviation of disease diagnosis, monitoring,
treatment, alleviation of, or compensation for, an injury or disability [37]
Personal health records Online systems that include collections of patient healthcare and medical
data, which utilise health informatics standards to enable patients to
share, organise and manage these data according to their own views
[38] often linked with m-health
Telehealth Often used interchangeably with telemedicine, but telehealth
encompasses a broader scope of technologies and healthcare providers
than telemedicine, which refers specifically to clinical health services [2]
Telemedicine The provision of healthcare services and medical information using
innovative technologies, especially information and communication
technologies, in situations where the health professional and patient (or
two health professionals) are not in the same location it includes any
remote interaction between patients and healthcare professionals, and
between healthcare professionals themselves, whether synchronous or
asynchronous [2]
Telemonitoring, teleconsultations,
telerehabilitation
Specific modalities within telehealth
https://doi.org/10.1183/2312508X.10016623 xi