Internet Technology Moves to Patient-Care Front Lines. The Internet is fast becoming an important tool in the delivery of medical information. This article discusses several examples of both private and public networks to disseminate information. Examples include a service offered by Sprint and the Florida Hospital Association for offering continuing education opportunities electronically. Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound used the Internet to disseminate clinical practice guidelines to each of its 1,000 physicians.
Patients can visit hospital home pages and register on-line for visits.
It is expected that community health information networks will be built in the future. These networks will be composed of payers and providers to share clinical, administrative, and financial data. Kane, Robert L., et al. Use of Post-Hospital Care by Medicare Patients. Medicare's introduction of the prospective payment system for hospitals has decreased length of stay in that environment.