The concept of the global health network is simple. We will be networking everyone engaged in public health and prevention world-wide. For those unfamiliar with the concepts of networking, it is important to review the existing systems of information transfer.
Electronic mail is the primary basis for information interchange.
Bulletin boards can be set up where one logs onto the computer and can find out the events which are occurring within that hospital today. Thus within a hospital the electronic mail system markedly improves the speed of information transfer. It was recognized early by universities that this was a powerful system, but could be made even more powerful by not only being able to send messages to colleagues within a university, but also across universities. By having a telephone line between say the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University 5 miles away a person could send a message not only to people at the University of Pittsburgh but also the Carnegie Mellon University. If Carnegie Mellon University has a telephone line to Ohio State University they too could be connected.