The Impact of the Internet on the Healthcare Industry: A Close Look at the Doctor-Patient Relationship, the Electronic Medical Record, and the Medical Billing Process

The Internet and biotechnology drove an American economic boom. Could the Internet streamline the healthc a re industry and reduce its rising costs? This paper will discuss possible scenarios for how the Internet could a ffect the doctor-patient relationship, medical re c o rd s , and medical billing. According to the Health Care Financing Administration's O ffice of the Actuary, national healthcare expenditures are expected to reach $2.2 trillion in 2008, representing 16.2% of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). Confirmed figures from 1998 have these expenditures constituting a 13.7% share of the GDP with an annual growth of 1.8% (http://www. h c f a . g o v / s t a t s / N H E Proj/proj1998/tables/). This growth in health spending coincided with the longest and strongest period of economic growth the United States has seen. The “new e c o n o m y,” dominated by biotechnology and Internet companies, was the cornerstone of the economic boom. Biotechnology is promising designer drugs, mechanical prosthetics, and solutions to human ailments. Clearly, the biotechnology industry will make an impact on healthcare (Berenson, 1996). The Internet is promising to increase efficiency across all industries, thereby improving quality and increasing productivity (Blumenthal, 1997). In fact, some have theorized that the recent economic boom is due in part to the increased eff i c i e n c y through the use of the Internet (Uchitelle, 2000). The unavoidable question is; how will the Internet impact the healthcare industry, and will it cut the growing cost of healthcare in the United States?