Consumerism: automating patient and provider interactions.
Healthcare is essentially an information industry that is seeking to automate its processes and use Internet technology to support its consumers. The healthcare industry understands that, without computerization, it would be nearly impossible to reduce medical errors, analyze the delivery of care, and provide real-time clinical decision support to healthcare providers to support patient care via the Internet. Without progressive steps, use of Internet technology to care for patients will be limited. The only way to meet the information challenges of tomorrow is to begin capitalizing on today's technology and implement the necessary tools now. Most important, healthcare organizations need to adopt a full array of technology to support their consumers in the electronic world of today and tomorrow.
Saint Luke's Shawnee Mission Health System, Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
John
J
Wade
D003254:Consumer Advocacy; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008923:Missouri; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000379:methods; D009096:Multi-Institutional Systems / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011787:Quality of Health Care