**2. The concept of e-health**

The term "e-Health" describes the utilization of modern technologies of Information Technology and telecommunications across the board of provided services by health professionals [7, 8]. In the framework of e-Health there are included programmes, systems and services which exceed the simple applications based on the Internet and are addressed both to health professionals and patients-users of health services, such as organized networks of health information, an electronic health record, an electronic health card, e-prescription, telemedicine, tele-counseling, tele-monitoring, personal portable communication systems, mobile phones and health portals. According to the World Health Organization [9] and the European Commission [10], e-Health refers to a wide range of products, systems and tools, which build their operation around the advanced information and communication technologies (ICT), aiming not only at the better management of health, but also the applied lifestyle on the whole. These online applications are addressed both to health professionals and patients-users and adopt a philosophy of a holistic approach, as they handle the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and later monitoring [11].

e-Health essentially comprises an emerging field in the intercept point of the scientific fields of medical informatics, public health and operational research. Its utilization focuses on the immediate, valid, qualitative and safe provision of health or healthcare services via the Internet and other available communication technologies. The desired effect is the transference of expertise and ensuring the smooth and unencumbered information flow, concerning not only healthcare, but also public health or preventive medicine [12].

At a global level, e-Health implementation is governed by the e-Health Resolution adopted by the 58th World Health Assembly in 2005 and aimed at better understanding [13] as well as its e-Health standardization and interoperability of World Health Organization [14], which stresses the need for standardization and interoperability of electronic applications, convergence of standards and their evaluation using common indicators, for comparable results. Furthermore, in 2012, the World Health Organization, in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), provided in the form of a manual the necessary guidelines to facilitate states in developing their national e-Health planning. This WHO-ITU National e-Health Strategy Toolkit [15] is a comprehensive operation plan and monitoring of e-Health applications and can be implemented by all countries wishing to develop or upgrade their national policy for e-Health, regardless of the level they are in today.

#### *E-Health Applications for Smart and Pervasive Healthcare in Greece. What Can We Expect? DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95859*

In Greece, its implementation was placed in the Greek framework of open government e-GIF (Electronic Government Interoperability Framework) and information online management, that was integrated in the Digital Agenda 2006–2013 (for the adjustment of services to the demands of the modern era), which was later readjusted in the framework of National Digital Strategy from 2016 to 2021 [16]. The Greek framework of open government specifies in essence the commands of the European action eEurope 2005-eGovernment and the programme eEurope-i2010, which divide the online provision of services in four axes: e-Government, e-Health, e-Learning and e-Business [17]. Towards the further propulsion of e-Health, the National Council of e-Health Management (NCHM) was established in 2015, which is headquartered in the Greek Ministry of Health.
