ABSTRACT
Changes in health care delivery systems and other factors have led to a revolution in
health care. Patients now are viewed as information consumers and active partners in
making health care decisions rather than passive recipients of services. This revolution is
fueled in part by advances in technology that facilitate the distribution of health
information and services to patients. For example, the federal government has called for
the distribution of computer-generated information about new prescribed medications to
95% of all pharmacy patients by the year 2006 (Department of Health and Human
Services, 1996). More generally, a variety of computer-mediated interactive health
communication systems now provide patients with an array of services and information
(Eng, Gustafson, Henderson, Jimison, & Patrick, 1999).
