While Eisenberg saw this kind of information as the way to revolutionize doctor-patient roles, Joseph Henderson, from Dartmouth Medical School, suggested Websites need to go beyond the usual brochures of information. He said the Internet is an exciting tool that will bring him closer to his patients. At right is Dr. Joseph V. Henderson, director of the Interactive Medical Laboratory at Dartmouth Medical School. Holly Jimison, a doctor with WebMD, could not agree more when she said that no business model exists that can open the floodgates to talk to physicians 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Technology is not adapted to the tight routine of the doctor who may not have the time to update information at the end of the day.
Technology controls the way information is exchanged between doctors and patients.
You need more space. Many physicians in the audience seemed to share his fear, as they asked him about the possibility of losing their jobs if they do not keep up with the flow of information on the intelligent machine. The other panelists were not so radical. They said the maximum use of the Web is in providing social-psychological information, such as that found on Websites for smoking cessation programs. But when patients need prescribed medicine, they will still need to see their doctor.