ABSTRACT
Most popular accounts about e-health focus on the use of the web by patients and “health seekers” in Western countries to search for medical information. But as the chapters in this edited volume illustrate, e-health and its implications go well beyond Internet searching to include new ways of delivering health care and influencing public health policy. As readers of this volume know, accessing health-related information has never been easier than in the current “information age,” as the Internet’s vast content and global reach allows health consumers to quickly connect with the latest information and expertise. In terms of information gathering, the Internet has leveled the playing field—patients and consumers have access to much of the same health information and guidelines as physicians. Beyond this, however, Internet technologies are working their way into the very nature of health care delivery—from medical education to patient–physician communication to technology-enhanced clinical applications. Met with both acceptance and apprehension, the rapidly evolving technological landscape poses interesting implications for health care on a global scale. E-health could play an important role in this century.
