"Health Care in the Information Age"

[Peter Marshall <techdiff@ix.netcom.com>]

Date: Wed, 5 May 1999 15:59:36 -0400
Subject: Health Care in the Information Age
To: UPFORGRABS-L@CDINET.COM

May 5, 1998

BENTON RELEASES REPORT ON HEALTH CARE IN THE INFORMATION AGE

Benton Foundation's Communications Policy and Practice program releases the
latest report in its "What's Going On" series, Networking for Better Care:
Health Care In the Information Age. The report describes efforts currently
under way to use information tools to improve the health care system and
identifies issues that must be addressed in order to advance the information
revolution in health. The goal, in part, is to serve as a bridge between the
health care sector, where many of these issues are familiar, and the broader
public.

A growing number of policymakers, health care providers, and consumers
believe information resources offer great hope for addressing concerns about
cost, quality, and access to health care. Networking for Better Care begins
by describing how judiciously collected and effectively communicated
information can help professionals provide better care, turn patients into
more enlightened consumers of health services, and ultimately enable
individuals and communities to address some of the root causes of illness
before professional intervention is required.

The report explores some of hurdles that must be overcome to realize
information-driven improvements in health care including the development of
strategies which will ensure that all Americans can reap the benefits of the
Information Age health care system. Networking for Better Care addresses the
challenge of
providing information that is both accurate and responsive to the needs of
real people. The report also offers a glimpse at some innovative projects
working to improve health care and provides links to resources for further
study of this complex issue.

Networking for Better Care: Health Care In the Information Age is made
possible with generous support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

This report, as well as other Benton publications, is available on our Web
site at www.benton.org/Library/health. Hard copies can be ordered
online at shop.benton.org, or by calling, toll-free, 1-877-2-BENTON
(1-877-223-6866).