## 1 Introduction  
Digital health encompasses various technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, telemedicine, eHealth, big data analytics, and connected devices, which are transforming the way care is delivered, making it more efficient, personalized, and accessible [1,2]. It also encompasses AI, wearable devices, and mobile health (mHealth). The digital transformation of healthcare has profoundly altered the delivery, access, and management of services across Europe [3,4]. Telemedicine is defined as the use of communications networks for delivering healthcare services and medical education from one geographic location to another, designed to overcome issues like uneven resource distribution and accessibility barriers [5, 6, 7]. It typically involves real-time, two-way communication between a patient and a healthcare provider for clinical purposes, such as consultation, diagnosis, and treatment [8]. Telemedicine refers more specifically to the provision of healthcare services at a distance, including diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and health education, through the use of telecommunication technologies [9, 10, 11]. It involves recent, rather real-time, or rarely asynchronous interactions [12] between healthcare professionals and patients (or between professionals). It is recognized in Poland as a regulated form of medical service. Both definitions by the European Commission's eHealth framework and proposed earlier by the Polish Telemedicine Society, which adds medical professional liability to the definition of real telemedicine [13], are followed. eHealth is defined as 'the use of information and communication technologies locally and at a distance' to support and enhance healthcare, public health, and health education [14,15]. Digital health transformation reshapes how health services are delivered, public health is protected, and chronic disease is managed and prevented [16,17]. In Poland, telemedicine and eHealth have played a central role in this shift, driving a decade-long evolution toward more accessible, efficient, and patient-centered care [18, 19, 20]. Between 2014 and 2024, Poland transitioned from fragmented digital health initiatives to a nationally coordinated eHealth (digital health) ecosystem [19, 20, 21]. This system integrates teleconsultations, remote monitoring, telerehabilitation, Electronic health records (EHRs), electronic prescriptions (e-prescriptions), mobile applications, and artificial intelligence (AI) tools for healthcare delivery [20,22]. This progress was propelled by a combination of policy, technological, and epidemiological factors. Telemedicine refers to the delivery of healthcare services at a distance using information and communication technology (ICT) [8,11,23]. eHealth encompasses broader digital health solutions including EHRs and decision-support systems [15,24,25]. The definitions used align with those of the WHO and European Commission (e.g., eHealth Action Plan 2012-2020). However, the definition of telemedicine proposed by the Polish Telemedicine Society before 2000 also addresses medical professional liability, which primarily distinguishes it from other forms of digital health [26]. This has recently been recognized by the EU [27]. Initially, telemedicine efforts in Poland led by academic centers or innovative clinicians lacked systemic integration [19,22,28]. The digitization of healthcare in Poland has thus far been not only technological but also regulatory. A breakthrough occurred in December 2015, when formal regulations enabling the use of telemedicine services were introduced into Polish law [18]. These changes are crucial for further development and institutionalization of digital healthservices. A pivotal transformation occurred with the legalization of teleconsultations, followed by the implementation of mandatory e-prescriptions, alongside e-referrals and the Internet Patient Account (IKP) [29; 30; 31; 32].