How well does E-Health Work? A Question of Evaluation

Information technology is becoming an integral part of life. All walks of life and all industries have to embrace this new technology to stride into the future. The health care industry is no exception. Many new health informatics or e-health projects or technologies are untested waters. How can we be assured that these new initiatives perform as intended and achieve the desired outcomes? How do we know if e-health as a health care delivery channel is a more cost-effective alternative to the conventional delivery methods? These are questions for the evaluators. This chapter discusses the many different evaluation approaches, types, tools and methods and offers an overview of what should be evaluated for an e-health initiative. It provides an understanding of the evaluation frameworks applicable to e-health initiatives. This is also a practical guide for stakeholders in designing and developing an effective and appropriate evaluation program for an e-health project or technology.