E-health in the East Asian tigers.
OBJECTIVE
The article analyzes e-health progress in East Asia's leading tiger economies: Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. It describes five main dimensions of e-health provision in the tigers: policymaking, regulation, provision, funding and physician-patient relations.


METHODS
We conducted a series of fieldwork interviews and analyzed key healthcare websites.


CONCLUSIONS
Our main finding is that the development of e-health in the region is less advanced than might be expected. Our explanation focuses on institutional, cultural and financial factors.
Holliday
Ian
I
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong. ian.holiday@cityu.edu.hk
Tam
Wai-Keung
WK
D001208:Asia; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019451:Information Management; D020407:Internet; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011050:Policy Making