Table 7.

Proposed mapping of e-Health service types to standardized QCIs.

QCI	Priority level	Type of e-Health service	Example e-Health application
1	2	Real-time conversational voice-based tele-consultation	Audio conferencing between patient/doctor or doctor/doctor
2	2	Real-time conversational video-based tele-consultation	Video conferencing between patient/doctor or doctor/doctor
	4	Conversational research and education	Collaborative research/education tools involving conversational audio/video; virtual patient support groups involving conversational audio/video
3	1*	Invasive real-time robotic services	Tele-surgery (transfer of robotic control data in one direction, and streaming images such as ultrasound or video in the other direction)
	3	Non-invasive real-time robotic services	Portable ultrasound probe holder robotic system reproducing an expert's hand movements during an ultrasound examination
4	1*	Emergency real-time tele- monitoring	Tele-monitoring of patient vital signs (e.g., streaming ECG data) in emergency situations
	5	Non-emergency real-time tele-monitoring	Streaming of patient ultrasound images or video during routine check up
		Streaming research and education	Education tools involving streaming media
5	2	Real-time EHR data access	Emergency medical personnel at accident/disaster site accessing a patient's EHR
		Real-time tele-diagnosis	Transfer of medical images to remote location in emergency situations
	1*	Real-time messaging	Alarms sent to care givers indicating patient emergency
6	6	Non-real-time tele-diagnosis	Non-emergency remote diagnosis: transfer of medical images to a remote location where specialists analyze data and return a diagnostic report
		Non-real time EHR data access/storage	Web-based end user (patient, doctor, additional health personnel) application for access to EHR during patient checkup
		Non-real-time messaging	Automated patient alerts (e.g., reminder for check up, reminder to take medication)
7	7	Interactive research and education	Interactive surgical simulations; remote control of instruments
8	8	Non-real-time tele-monitoring	Tele-monitoring application for post-hospital home care of cardiovascular patients involving monitoring of vital signs and delivery to central hospital server
		Interactive health information data exchange	Health portals: Web sites offering health related data
9	9	Noninteractive health information data retrieval	Distribution of diagnostic imaging textbooks
		Administrative and financial transactions	Patient referrals; appointment scheduling; charging and billing applications