Author(s): Taşkın KILIÇ
In developed countries, absolute hospital-oriented health service provision is not sufficient anymore subject to increasing demand of aging population toward health services, difficulties experienced in accessing health services due to geographical and economic reasons, long patient wait lists, increasing health service costs, follow-up of chronic, handicapped and aged patients, information need of health service providers and patients, mobilized life style of today’s society and increasing person-oriented health service. Within this scope, some countries, in pursuit of transforming and developing their health services, transited into “eHealth system” through the information and communication technologies. In this regard, various applications such as “Tele-medicine, Mobile Health, Digital Hospitals, Robotic Health, and Electronic Health Records” have been put in practice. The purpose of the present study is to investigate theoretical and practical dimensions of the eHealth system introduced in recent years and “Tele-Ophthalmology Diseases” system applied in Netherlands, having one of the best health systems of the world, as the best clinical practice. Theoretical section of the study was prepared based on the reports published by the World Health Organization (WHO) about the eHealth, Reports published by the Netherlands Ministry of Health and on available literature on the relevant subject. The field research of the study was conducted through interviews regarding e-Eye Health in Netherlands, one of the prominent countries of the world in terms of eHealth area, in the period of June 5-12, 2016. 83% of patients with eye disease examined through the eHealth system were held at the first tier so that significant cost advantages could be obtained. Whereas wait lines were reduced, access to the service was facilitated in the Ophthalmology Clinics.
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