Thursday, January 22, 2009

Your Health and the Information Age

The Internet is always in a state of evolution as it increases its presence in our everyday lives. The Internet has many different functions: that of entertainment, of communication, and of information. People around the world depend on the Internet more and more for all of the above functions. But when we think of the Internet, do we really think about health care?

Many people do, in fact, use the Internet to search for information: about diseases, about treatments, or about alternative treatments. People also use it for communication with support groups. However, do we ever think about interacting with our doctor over the Internet? In fact, there is a move towards online doctoring – through e-mail and video conferencing. With this trend, there are security issues, telephobias and tele-addictions, and a big, wide, open sea with no clear start point.

This is where Peter Yellowlees book will become useful. It is an excellent resource for those who are starting to, or currently are, using the Internet for health care. The book is organized into chapters, with subsequent sub-headings, touching on everything from the changing face of healthcare, to searching the web and changing the ways that doctor’s work. At the end of each chapter, there is a summary of points of what was discussed in that chapter. Throughout the book, there are website addresses, which are useful starting websites to aid people in the research about a particular illness or related topics. At the conclusion of the book, there is a long list of useful resources for additional reading on different topics related to the book.

Peter Yellowlees is a doctor, who has lived in the UK, Australia and the USA. He currently works for the University of California Davis. He is internationally recognised as an expert on healthcare over the Internet.

This book is definitely worth a read if you have ever researched health over the Internet, or are considering participating in e-Health. Recommended by: Margaret Orford, Allbooks Review.
www.InformationAgeHealth.com It is also available through most online booksellers including Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and from www.iUniverse.com

Title: Your Health in the Information Age – How you and your Doctor can use the Internet to Work Together
Author: Peter Yellowlees
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 978 – 0 – 5955 – 2775 - 5
Pages: 188 pages
Price: $17.95 US
Jan. 2009

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