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Delivery of Healthcare Via the Internet: A Paradigm Shift in Healthcare and the Contributions of the Advanced Technology Program

Published

Author(s)

R N. Spivack

Abstract

The rise in the popularity of the Internet in the past few years is contributing to a paradigm shift in the way healthcare services will be provided in the U.S. in the 21st century. The healthcare Internet industrys goals of consumer empowerment and provider connectivity will reshape the doctor/patient relationship, contributing to significant changes in the manner by which healthcare services are provided. The result is likely to be the removal of a considerable amount of responsibility from the hands of the doctor and placement of it in the hands of the patient. In this new paradigm, access to the Internet raises additional issues of equity regarding each Americans right to log-on to healthcare information.The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of the current state and future direction of the impact of the Internet on the delivery of healthcare services in the U.S. The first part of the paper discusses the paradigm shift in healthcare currently underway along with several of the implications for the doctor/patient relationship as well as the concern that access to healthcare services may continue to allude a great many people in the U.S. The second part of the paper introduces the U.S. Department of Commerce s Advanced Technology Program (ATP) and specifically the work underway to construct the National Information Infrastructure for Healthcare. A vision of where the work is that lies ahead is also presented.
Citation
NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR) - 6704
Report Number
6704

Keywords

Advanced Technology Program, healthcare internet industry, healthcare paradigm shift, technology programs

Citation

Spivack, R. (2008), Delivery of Healthcare Via the Internet: A Paradigm Shift in Healthcare and the Contributions of the Advanced Technology Program, NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD (Accessed March 28, 2024)
Created October 16, 2008