ABSTRACT
Health care is an important commodity in the United States because people, the consumers of health services, place a high value on health. Health care has evolved over this century from a service accessed by a small percentage of society to one of the biggest market sectors in the U.S. economy. The Health Care Financing Administration (1999) reports that the nation’s total spending for health care will increase from $1 trillion in 1996 to $2.1 trillion in 2007. Medicine in this country is now at a crossroads of sorts. As medical innovations offer health care providers with enhanced ways to save lives, the length of chronic illnesses and subsequent need for supporting services are likely to increase dramatically in the coming years. As a result, communities are seeking new solutions to address accompanying issues of rising costs, improved access to services, and acceptable levels of quality and continuity of care. New technologies, such as telemedicine, are emerging as one approach to address these issues.
