ABSTRACT
The National Health Service (NHS) was created in 1948 to provide a unique, comprehensive and universal service free at the point of delivery and aimed at improving the health of the British population. This chapter describes the vision of a modern technology-led health service, as well as examining the concept of power as a change engine. The apparent technological paradox is that the new innovation may serve as a tool which shifts the 'power over' from professionals to their perceived customers while losing along the way the ability to gain from clinician's 'power to' facilitate appropriate care. Telehealth is not just a medical aid or a clinical information system but an information service which fosters the notion of information as a human right and a tool for self empowerment. Telehealth, which provides the means and medium for knowledge sharing and open communication, must be itself perceived by users as powerless.
