With the kind of revolutionary change that the Internet brings, the reality of what's possible keeps changing. What is becoming clear is that privacy is an issue and there is the need for strong ethics and appropriate protections.
Some steps are already underway to create voluntary action.
Each time a doctor uses his or her ID, it goes through Intel's data center to confirm that it is still a valid digital ID and that the person using it is a doctor. The ID is designed to be a cryptographically armored piece of software that gets downloaded to a physician's personal computer when he or she enrolls. On any site with which the doctor is affiliated and which accepts the digital credential, the doctor can then perform tasks, such as write prescriptions, receive lab reports or access personal medical records. Scott said about 70 percent of all prescriptions require a call back to the doctor because there's a mistake, the writing can't be read, etc. And 50 percent of prescriptions are never even filled.