E-health use is increasing worldwide, but no current e-health paradigm fulfills the complete range of user needs for online health services. This dilemma clouds a number of issues surrounding e-health, as promoters of e-commerce, personal health records, and consumer health informatics paradigms attempt to create encompassing e-health within the constraints of each unique perspective. In the lo...

In this paper the authors present the framework of a system for assisting users through counseling on personal health, the Personal Health Assistance Service Expert System (PHASES). Personal health assistance systems need Personal Health Records (PHR), which support wellness activities, improve the understanding of personal health issues, enable access to data from providers of health services,...

Cloud computing is a new delivery model for information technology services and it typically involves the provision of dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources over the Internet. However, cloud computing raises concerns on how cloud service providers, user organizations, and governments should handle such information and interactions. Personal health records represent an emerging pa...

background: taxi drivers are exposed to various risk factors such as work overload, stress, an irregular diet, and a sedentary lifestyle, which make these individuals vulnerable to many diseases. this study was designed to assess the health status of this occupational group. objectives: the objective was to explore the health status, the intention to seek health examination, and participation i...

One of the animating beliefs of British health service reformers in the first half of the twentieth century was that delivery would improve if greater co-ordination was imposed over disparate providers. The fundamental divisions were between the voluntary, public and private sectors. Voluntary provision predominantly meant acute care hospitals, but also included a range of other therapeutic and...

Here is a health policy riddle: despite the fact that we are not always clear as to what we are trying to achieve, even on the most basic level, we must make policy anyway. Odder still: this is as we might expect it to be, and perhaps even as it should be. After all, part of what makes health policy important is precisely the fact that it raises critical questions about our most basic human val...

BACKGROUND In order to plan and improve provision of comprehensive care in Huntington's disease (HD), it is critical to understand the gaps in healthcare and social support services provided to HD patients. Research has described utilization of healthcare services in HD in Europe, however, studies systematically examining needs for healthcare services and social support are lacking. This study ...

INTRODUCTION With the growing use of electronic medical records, electronic health records (EHRs), and personal health records (PHRs) for health care delivery, new opportunities have arisen for population health researchers. Our objective was to characterize PHR users and examine sample representativeness and nonresponse bias in a study of pregnant women recruited via the PHR. DESIGN Demograp...

The survival and life expectancy rates of people with traumatic and degenerative neurological conditions are increasing, sometimes up to several decades. Yet compared to the general population, people with a disability continue to experience poorer health and are at greater risk of developing secondary health problems and facing barriers to services they require. These trends have significant i...