By Eric Andrew Kristof, RN, CAHIMS | Healthcare IT Professional | HIMSS Arkansas Chapter Member
About This Series: The HIMSS Word of the Day is a running blog series drawing from the HIMSS Dictionary of Health Information and Technology Terms, Acronyms, and Organizations, 6th Edition (2025) — the authoritative reference for healthcare IT professionals and the primary study resource for CAHIMS and CPHIMS certification. Each post paraphrases the term in plain language, grounds it in real-world healthcare IT context, and adds a bedside nursing perspective you won’t find in a textbook.
📖 The Term: eHealth
Source: HIMSS Dictionary of Health Information and Technology Terms, Acronyms, and Organizations, 6th Edition (2025)
🔍 Plain-Language Definition
The HIMSS Dictionary describes eHealth (also written e-health) as a broad term for health care practice supported by information and communication technologies. It places eHealth at the meeting point of medicine and information technology and lists records, remote care, and evidence-based practice among the services it covers.
The breadth is deliberate. eHealth is not a single product or technology. It covers the tools clinicians use, such as records and decision support; the ways care is delivered at a distance, such as telemedicine; and the ways patients take part, such as portals, apps, and remote monitoring. In recent years the term has overlapped with digital health, which the World Health Organization uses in its global strategy.
Because eHealth spans so many tools, discussion tends to move from the technology to the questions around it: Does it work? Is it safe? Who can use it? Is it used well? The sources below take up several of those questions.
| Area | What It Covers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic records | Capture and share patient information | EHR, patient portal |
| Telemedicine | Care delivered at a distance | Video visit, remote consult |
| Remote monitoring | Data collected outside the clinic | Home blood pressure readings |
| Decision support | Evidence delivered at the point of care | Alert or order set |
| Self-management tools | Support for patients between visits | App for dialysis patients |
| eHealth literacy | Ability to find and use online health information | Reading and acting on portal results |
⚠️ Exam Alert: eHealth is a broad term for health care supported by information and communication technologies, including electronic records, telemedicine, and evidence-based practice. It is wider than telehealth, which focuses on care delivered at a distance, and wider than mHealth, which centers on mobile devices. eHealth literacy is a different concept: it is a person’s ability to use electronic health information, not a type of technology.
🌐 Why It Matters: Real-World Healthcare IT Context
Interest in eHealth is global, and the evidence shows both growth and gaps. The sources below cover strategy, measurement, implementation, education, and a small practical example.
The World Health Organization describes digital health as a way to accelerate progress on health and well-being goals, and it promotes standards for interoperability and data sharing as part of its work. The WHO Global Strategy on Digital Health, adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2020, presents a roadmap to link innovation with action to improve health outcomes. WHO says its vision is for digital health to support equitable and universal access to quality services, while acknowledging that these aims are hard to reach for low- and middle-income countries.
A 2025 scoping review of reviews in the Journal of Medical Internet Research by Powis and colleagues asked what is measured when virtual care is evaluated. It retained 1,233 reviews published from 2015 to 2023 and grouped their measures using the Proctor implementation research outcomes framework. Most articles (73.0 percent, 900 of 1,233) evaluated client outcomes such as satisfaction, usability or functionality, or clinical outcomes. Implementation measures were poorly defined and often proxy measures. Studies of health equity were mostly qualitative, and measures of safety, privacy, and security were sparse and poorly defined. Few studies looked at the caregiver perspective. The authors conclude that no comprehensive measurement framework yet guides evaluation.
A 2025 rapid umbrella review in the same journal by Katz and colleagues examined what is known about implementing telemedicine. It included 18 reviews covering 973 primary studies from 63 countries, and found that six of the reviews focused on low- and middle-income settings. Although the theories and frameworks varied widely, the synthesis showed considerable convergence on essential requirements. Process dimensions included readiness and needs assessment, a road map and planning, managing change, implementing services, and continuous improvement and performance measurement. Thematic dimensions included human and sociocultural aspects, organization and leadership, communication and coordination, and policy and legal matters.
A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis in Nurse Education Today by Xin and colleagues focused on a human factor: eHealth literacy among nursing students. Twenty cross-sectional studies with 12,390 students in 11 countries were pooled. The mean score on the eHEALS scale was 29.51, slightly above the average level, but heterogeneity was extremely high. Senior students scored higher than junior students, and living in an urban area and good economic conditions were associated with higher literacy. Digital health literacy had a moderate positive correlation with health-promoting behaviors (r = 0.42). The authors point to regional digital divides and argue for systematic nursing education. Because the studies were cross-sectional, the associations do not show cause.
A 2026 pilot feasibility study in BMC Nephrology by Hamada and colleagues tested a digital self-management application called eCare in 12 patients on maintenance hemodialysis over three months. Hemoglobin rose, scores on a health consciousness scale changed, and frailty scores showed a trend toward improvement, while eHealth literacy scores stayed stable. Active users improved more in prevention-related awareness and cognitive function than passive users. With 12 patients and no comparison group, the authors call for larger controlled studies.
The sources point to the same lessons: eHealth succeeds when it is planned, measured, and matched to people’s skills.
Common eHealth problems:
- Technology introduced without a plan for readiness and change management
- Evaluations that measure satisfaction but not safety, privacy, or equity
- Tools that assume patients and staff have strong digital skills
- Regional and economic divides in access and literacy
- Pilots that never grow beyond a small group of users
- Services that ignore the role of caregivers
What supports successful eHealth:
- Readiness and needs assessment before launch
- Defined measures for outcomes, implementation, safety, and equity
- Education that builds eHealth literacy for staff and patients
- Attention to policy, legal, and organizational factors
- Support for caregivers and community settings
- Continuous improvement based on real use
🏥 The Nurse’s Perspective: Clinical, Bedside, & Workflow
Nurses are among the most frequent users of eHealth tools, and they are often the ones who teach patients to use them.
At the Bedside
A nurse who checks whether a patient can use the portal, read a result, or run a home device is assessing eHealth literacy, whether or not the term is used. Teach-back and simple handouts help patients get value from the tools.
In Clinical Workflow
Nurse informaticists help decide which tools to adopt, how they fit unit routines, and how success will be measured. They also help design training so staff at every comfort level can use the systems.
In EHR Implementation (Go-Live Perspective)
Electronic records, portals, and remote monitoring links are tested with nurses and patients before an Epic Go-Live. At-the-elbow support analysts see who struggles with a screen or device and relay those needs so training and design can be adjusted.
🎓 CAHIMS / CPHIMS & HIMSS Perspective
CAHIMS Exam Domain Mapping
eHealth appears across environment, workflow, and strategy questions:
| CAHIMS Domain | How eHealth Appears |
|---|---|
| Healthcare & Technology Environments | Digital health strategy, policy, global context |
| Clinical Informatics | Telemedicine, records, decision support, patient engagement |
| Healthcare Information & Systems Management | Implementation, interoperability, support |
| Management & Leadership | Readiness, change management, program evaluation |
Key Terms to Know Alongside eHealth
- Digital Health — broad term for the use of digital technologies for health
- Telemedicine — clinical services delivered at a distance using technology
- mHealth — health care supported by mobile devices
- eHealth Literacy — ability to find, understand, and use electronic health information
- Interoperability — ability of systems to exchange and use data
- Implementation Science — study of methods to move evidence into routine practice
HIMSS Organizational Position
HIMSS offers education and research on health information and technology topics through its Resource Center. Members can find related information on the HIMSS Resource Center page.
🔗 Explore Further: External References
- World Health Organization — Digital health https://www.who.int/health-topics/digital-health
- Powis et al. (2025), Journal of Medical Internet Research — Virtual Care, What Are We Measuring and What Should We Measure? Scoping Review of Reviews https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41328522/
- Katz et al. (2025), Journal of Medical Internet Research — The State of the Art of Telemedicine Implementation Architecture: Rapid Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40489768/
- Xin et al. (2026), Nurse Education Today — eHealth literacy levels and associated factors among nursing students: A global systematic review and meta-analysis https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42879965/
- Hamada et al. (2026), BMC Nephrology — Digital self-management application for patients undergoing hemodialysis: influences on health awareness and frailty https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42897520/
- HIMSS — Resource Center https://www.himss.org/resource-center
Term source: HIMSS Dictionary of Health Information and Technology Terms, Acronyms, and Organizations, 6th Edition (2025). All definitions in this series are paraphrased for editorial purposes. Readers are encouraged to consult the primary source for exact language.
Eric Andrew Kristof, RN, CAHIMS is a Healthcare IT professional and HIMSS Arkansas Chapter member based in Hot Springs Village, AR, with hands-on Epic Go-Live experience and a diverse healthcare and IT background. He writes at kristof.org at the intersection of clinical care and healthcare technology.
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