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Ubiquitous public health: The future of consumer health information infrastructures

Jayfus Doswell, MS, PhD Candte, Information Technology, George Mason University, 6581 Hickman Terrace, Alexandria, VA 22315, 703-313-6774, Juxtopia@hotmail.com

Recently, science and technology has evolved to assist health care providers treat their patients from robotic surgery and computer assisted diagnosis to telemedicine and e-prescriptions. Now, emerging capabilities of science and technology may be integrated into a new information technology (IT) infrastructure with the potential to transform healthcare outside the walls of the traditional health care institution and self-care home environments into the daily routine of an individual, thus, creating a consumer-oriented, health prevention infrastructure. This new ubiquitous public health care environment has the potential to realize a low-cost and efficient health care prevention service by administering disease surveillance, injury prevention, and continued awareness of an individual’s changing health-state in any environment, anytime, anywhere.

This presentation will discuss how emerging information technology has the capability to transform health care from the conventional patient-oriented model to a consumer-oriented one facilitated by true prevention health services. Additionally, this presentation will forecast how future science and technology advancements such as nanotechnology, virtual-reality, intelligent computation, wireless communication, and how other computational systems comprise new tools health care providers, patients, and consumers will use in the future to come closer to a disease and injury free society.

Learning Objectives:

  • At the end of this session, participants will be able to

    Presenting author's disclosure statement:
    I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

    Expanding the Linkages between Public Health and Information Technology

    The 132nd Annual Meeting (November 6-10, 2004) of APHA