Last update:
16-Jun-2006

Recent advances in Internet technology and infrastructure create new opportunities and challenges for the networked healthcare enterprise. Internet, mainly through the World Wide Web, already plays an important role in delivering scientific and related medical information, through specialized databases and electronic press. In addition to static information, diverse Internet applications have been developed to support interaction with medical information systems, thus promoting new paradigms in the fields of telemedicine and tele-education. Interactive sources of medical knowledge, such as anatomy atlases and digital teaching files are now available on the Internet for medical personnel. Communication and collaboration is supported at various levels of immediacy and complexity, both among medical personnel and between doctor and patient. Patient monitoring and overall management has been made possible over the public Internet infrastructure, while advanced applications allow for the telemanipulation of tools and devices involved in healthcare delivery processes. To date, the Internet has enabled connectivity among people, static and interactive presentation of information and remote access to computer programs and information systems, thus promoting medicine and healthcare delivery in various ways. Recent advances in web service technologies enable the seamless communication and integration of disparate information systems over the Internet. These new developments create the potential for the development of integrated service networks over the public Internet infrastructure, thus supporting a citizen-centred healthcare management model. The aim of this paper is to present current trends in Internet applications in healthcare and discuss the emerging role of the Internet as an infrastructure for the development of integrated healthcare service networks.

Key words: Internet, Telemedicine, Web services.