The Internet Access Breakthrough: Bringing Healthcare Home

The Internet access breakthrough presents huge opportunities to make substantial strides ... not only in reducing costs, but in improving clinical quality and customer service.

• At point of service, patient education on physical fitness and diet management can reduce the occurrence of many diseases, thereby avoiding many episodes of care.
• Every coronary artery bypass graft that is averted can fund hundreds of prenatal care visits for high-risk pregnancies.
• Preventing a single low birth-weight baby from needing a neonatal intensive care unit saves hundreds of thousands of dollars.
• Automatic detection of conditions in a medical record that indicate a need for a physician visit could generate email and automated followup via a customer service representation.
• Appointments could be scheduled from home and relieve administrative burdens and overhead costs.
• Vital signs could be followed at home via a device communicating via wireless to the internet.
• Virtual appointments over the Internet could dramatically increase the number of patients a physician can server.
• Self empowerment through Internet education leading to alternative modes of care and prevention can dramatically improve health while radically reducing cost.

References

• Jones, Charles M. 1997. The Internet Access Breakthrough: Bringing Healthcare Home. Healthcare Informatics 14:7:62-64.