Preface to the special issue on personalization for e-health

Abstract

E-Health is defined by the World Health Organisation as ‘the combined use of electronic communication and information technology in the health sector’ (WHO http:// www.who.int/topics/ehealth/en/). The Australian National e-Health strategy document builds on this definition by adding: “In more practical terms, E-Health is the means of ensuring that the right health information is provided to the right person at the right place and time in a secure, electronic form for the purpose of optimising the quality and efficiency of health care delivery” (National e-Health Strategy Summary 2008). In the past few years, e-Health has been increasingly in the limelight, becoming an integral part of both national and international policies, attracting unprecedented levels of investment, and seeing research efforts and funding multiply consistently. In EU, for example, support for the implementation and the interoperability of e-Health solutions was one of the actions included in a white paper (EU 2008) laying out the Health Strategy for 2008–2013; it was recognised that e-Health “can help to provide better citizen-centred care as well as lowering costs and supporting interoperability across national boundaries, facilitating patient mobility and safety” (p. 9). This came after the Community, as early as 2004, adopted an e-Health action plan (EU 2004), which defined a set of targets in terms of the widespread use of ICT for health among the member States. In theUS, in 2007, the eHealth Initiative (http://www.ehealthinitiative. org), after a six-month consultation, produced a Blueprint: “Building Consensus for Common Action” (eHealth Initiative 2007) representing an agreement among various