A Holistic Approach to Exploring the Divided Standards Landscape in E-Health Research

Due to the importance of standards in providing safe, interoperable, and quality healthcare, a growing body of literature that extends across diverse disciplines explores e-health systems and services in relation to standards and standardization. A holistic approach to synthesize the growing volume of research on e-health standards with a broader analysis of common themes is needed. Yet an assessment of the state of academic research that involves standards and e-health across disciplines has not been taken up to date. To understand the dynamics of e-health standards, this article systematically reviews the standards landscape in e-health research. We found three key themes: first, the use and harmonization of e-health standards; second, the types and roles of e-health standards; and third, the adoption of standards.