From electronic gadgets to better health: where
is the knowledge?
Over the past decade, we have been exposed to an unprecedented number of
information and communication technologies that have promised to affect health
care. We have witnessed the breathtaking expansion of the internet and the
launch of numerous personal electronic assistants, with smart phones and
wireless personal organisers leading the pack. Most high income countries have
allocated substantial resources to integrating electronic health information
systems and many of their citizens now have access to the internet.
During the same decade some disturbing changes took place. Most "dot com"
companies rose and fell, leaving their promises for radical change unfulfilled.
In the countries with the requisite tools and the infrastructure, doctors
continued to resist using them in clinical practice. Many telehealth initiatives
emerged, but many also disappeared, leaving a trail of unclear returns on
investment. At the same time, the digital divide across the world widened.
Clearly, the revolution in technology.
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