In building an Information Society, the Department of Health has defined e-Health as: "Combined utilization of electronic communication and information technology to generate, transmit, store and retrieve digital data for clinical, educational and administrative purposes". The purpose of e-Health is to contribute to the improvement of the health status of the people of South Africa through optimal use of ICTs. This would include e-Systems in the areas of:

• The delivery of care;
• The surveillance of diseases & services;
• Health emergencies and hazards;
• The management of health care institutions;
• Access to repositories of knowledge, applications and literature;
• The education of the public and formal education of health service professionals.