Internet based communication in healthcare

The use of internet based communication has promising applications for healthcare. Information sourced from social media has the potential to transform medical research and the construction of Public health policies. Wireless technologies give healthcare providers the opportunity to monitor patients in the community reducing costly hospital stays and enabling earlier disease intervention. Whilst increased access to health information can empower patients, reliability of information is a problem due to lack of quality assurance. Furthermore patients are at risk of receiving incorrect or out of context information and having their confidentiality breached for commercial purposes. Main internet based communication trends and challenges impacting the healthcare sector are reviewed.