A bibliometric analysis on global eHealth

BACKGROUND: The current coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic highlights the potential of eHealth. Drawing the knowledge map of eHealth research through data mining and visual analysis technology was helpful to systematically present the research status and future trends of global academic circles. METHODS: Based on the web of Science Core Collection (SCIE/SSCI) database, using bibliometric theory and visual analysis technology, this work analyzed the global eHealth research publications from 2000 to 2021, and introduced the interdisciplinary characteristics, hot topics and future trends in this field. RESULTS: A total of 10188 authors, 891 journals, 3586 institutions, 98 countries using 12 languages had conducted eHealth research in the world. The United States, the Netherlands, Australia and the United Kingdom were the main forces and international cooperation. However, the international co-operation between Eastern and Western countries was still relatively few. The frontier of global eHealth research mainly focused on #0eHealth innovation, #1physical activity, #2generalised anxiety disorder, #3lightweight authentication protocol, #4 eHealth information, #5technology readiness, #6 ehealth literacy scale, #7family carer, #8citance analysis, #9 guiding patient. Clusters #3 lightweight authentication protocol and #9 guiding patient were the latest clusters, indicating the research trend and direction of eHealth in the future. CONCLUSIONS: Cooperation network framework at the regional, national and global levels and the cooperation of multidisciplinary teams with complementary backgrounds and expertise were needed to realize the in-depth popularization and application of eHealth knowledge. Interdisciplinary international cooperation should be the trend of eHealth research in the future.