Understanding the meaning of an e-patient is important to how we address system re-design. Educated, empowered, engaged patients are more responsible for their own health. Education EMPOWERS patients.

The e-patient whitepaper can be downloaded on e-patients.net.

Since my recovery in 2013, I have been speaking at various events globally, includingAt Maynooth University, #HIMSS17 and Stanford University’s #MedX | Ed 2017

I also established the hcsmSA virtual community on Twitter in 2013. The hcsmSA chats are modelled around the SDGs.

There are over 30 hcsm chapters globally and analytics are recorded by Symplur.com.

MY PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUNDI studied graphic design and fine art, as well as modern-classical music, improvisation.

I owned a marketing company from 1997 -2015 and specialised in design, online marketing, SEO and various other advertising media.

Another service we offered was medical websites using patient education which I established because of my own experiences. We had partnerships with animation

companies like Nucleus Medical Media.

The future of health focuses heavily on the web, design and the quality of data analytics.

What’s important to understand when using the web is behavioural change marketing. Data online provides us with a good opportunity to target specific audiences

and track it.Online marketing is a critical tool to disperse patient education in multiple languages and various

media.These statistics do not represent the cost, speed and access to ICTs.

Are patients ready for digital technologies?Although South Africa have varied demographics, not all e-patients are created equal.Some may not be digitally literate, others might be ready. Some might want paternal care.It is important to consider these variables when implementing ITC solutions. Digital divides included. Real-world and digital both apply.