1965 Chapter 7.8 E-Health and Ensuring Quality Prajesh Chhanabhai University of Otago, New Zealand Alec Holt University of Otago, New Zealand Copyright © 2009, IGI Global, distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. IntroductIon The Internet is one of the most utilized resources for obtaining information, learning, communica- tion, and as a source of advice. The most sought after advice and information are related with health matters. In the United States, for example, over 16 million people per year visit WebMD (http:// my.webmd.com/webmd_today/home/default), an online portal dedicated to providing health information and services (Sass, 2003). Health information on the Internet has grown expo- nentially, with up to 88 million adults predicted to access medical information online in 2005 (Ansani et al., 2005). This merging of medical knowledge and information knowledge has given birth to e-health. Despite the growth and application of infor- mation and communications technology (ICT) in health care over the last 15 years, e-health is a relatively new concept, with the term being in- troduced in the year 2000 (Pagliari et al., 2005). Its use has grown exponentially, and as Pagliari et al. (2005) reported, there are over 320,000 pub- lications addressing e-health listed in MEDLINE alone. However, there is still no clear defnition of e-health. There have been two international calls, in 2001 and 2004, for a clear and concise defnition of e-health, but both failed to produce an internationally acceptable defnition. In the same paper, Pagliari et al. (2005) found 24 differ- ent defnitions, highlighting the fact that this is a gray area. Hence, without a clear and standardized defnition, the opportunities to conduct unethical behavior are made easier. In this article Eysenbach’s (2001) defnition will be used, as it provides a comprehensive overview of the term e-health. It has also been used, as Eysenbach is regarded as an expert in the area of e-health and consumer informatics. He has defned e-health as: An emerging feld in the intersection of medical informatics, public health and business, referring