Healthcare and Information Technology:
Blending the Voices of Science, Practice, and Consumer Interests

This year, the mantra of medical self-responsibility coupled with curiosity, easy access, and the desire for anonymity will lead over 70 million Americans to the same resource for healthcare information --- the Internet. There they will find the proverbial good, bad,ugly &, and at times, the very ugly.

The core source of knowledge --- raw unadorned information --- is growing and expanding at an ever-increasing rate. Parallel to the development of this tidal wave of facts, figures, conjecture, and opinion is a thirsty population all to willing to seek and accept whatever is presented.

Throughout history, medicine has operated, primarily, as a collaborative effort involving research science and the practicing physician. For the most part, the patient or healthcare consumer was a passive recipient of these efforts. Even as recent as the 1950s, physicians routinely withheld critical information from patients; including such serious omissions as the diagnosis of cancer.

This multimedia keynote presentation will take a close look at the push-pull factors that are expanding the traditional partnership of science and practice to include the greatest untapped resource in healthcare --- the consumer. The presentation will explore the strengths as well as the cautions associated with these wild, wild, west days of unrestricted and unregulated access to healthcare information via the Internet.

Here's what participants gain from this session:

• An Understanding of The Journey From Passive Compliance to Active Partnerships
• The Rapid Trending of e-Health Information: Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow
• How to Anticipate and Work with the Changing Voice & Face of the Consumer
• The Importance of Blending the Voices
• An Appreciation of the Fragile Relationship of High Tech --- Higher Touch