«What’s in a name?».
W. Shakespeare.
Abstract
Information and communication technologies are widely used in healthcare. However, there is not still a unified taxonomy for them. The lack of understanding of this phenomenon implies theoretical and ethical issues. This paper attempts to find out the basis for a classification, starting from a new perspective: the structural elements are obtained from the etymologies of the lexicon commonly used, that is words like telemedicine, telehealth, telecare and telecure. This will promote a better understanding of communication technologies; at the same time, it will allow to draw some reflection about health, medicine and care, and their semantic and relational nature.
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Colucci, M. Communication technologies through an etymological lens: looking for a classification, reflections about health, medicine and care. Med Health Care and Philos 18, 601–606 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-015-9657-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-015-9657-2