In this issue: Unleashing the power of e-Health requires the development of an evidence base for interventions that improve care

Abstract

The two leading articles in this issue of Informatics in Primary Care describe the importance of creating the right evidence base if we are to Unleash the Power of e-Health. Policy needs to promote well-thought-out developments that are evidence based, have the right theoretical underpinnings and are carefully modelled to see where and how they might fit into the (very human) process of health care delivery and most importantly affect health outcomes. To inform this debate, we need to be clear about what we mean by e-Health and the evidence base, their origins and definitions (Boxes 1 and 2). In this issueCopyright © e-Health: e-Health was a term coined in 1999 out of the realisation that 'telemedicine' (technologies that delivered medicine at a distance) was too isolated a concept and that any use of technology had to be better integrated with other information technologies and into health systems. 1 Definitions of e-Health have since then sometimes been more Internet centred; for example:• e-Health refers to the organisation and delivery of health services and information using the Internet and related technologies. 2 • Others take a more health management focus, for example the World Health Organisation definition: • e-Health is the transfer of health resources and health care by electronic means. It encompasses three main areas:• The delivery of health information, for health professionals and health consumers, through the Internet and telecommunications.• Using the power of IT and e-commerce to improve public health services, e.g. through the education and training of health workers.• The use of e-commerce and e-business practices in health systems management. 3 • e-Health combined with patient access to evidence and their records has the potential to empower patient choice. 4

Examining the Effectiveness, Acceptability, and Feasibility of Virtually Delivered Trauma-Focused Domestic Violence and Sexual Violence Interventions: A Rapid Evidence Assessment

“…Virtual delivery of interventions incorporates the use of technology to provide communication, education, intervention, or service between a provider and a client ( Chen et al, 2020 ; Hensel et al, 2019 ; Jack et al, 2020 ). Virtually delivered interventions include telehealth, telemedicine, eHealth, mHealth, tele-mental health, and telepsychotherapy ( Anderson et al, 2019 ; de Lusignan, 2015 ; Stewart et al, 2020 ). The definitions of these intervention types are included in Supplementary Appendix A .…”