As the rest of modern society turns towards technology and the internet as primary sources of information, the health care industry is also making an attempt to catch up to the speed of other business's that have already ventured in e-commerce. Health care online, now called "e-healthcare," is a new and emerging form of B2B and B2C commerce that has many potential benefits to all parties involved. Whether the future may be grim or prosperous for this industry, e-healthcare will become the primary way, and eventually, sole way of conducting health care.
It is estimated that by 2010, 90% of Americans will be online or have access to internet capabilities. This means that businesses, in this case health care firms, will have to eventually move their businesses online in order to be competitive. E-healthcare is the conducting and tracking of ones" health records online via the provider's , hospital's, or physician's website software. The purpose of conducting health care online is to create a more informed consumer about new and emerging diseases, medicines, and other FDA health reports and regulations. In today's society, many people are curious about such health issues, and health care providers need to keep the public informed or they will lose valuable business.
Moving health care online is said to be a more effective and efficient way to conduct business and it will save time which is normally lost searching for records and such. Reducing administration and medical costs is a concern for health care businesses, but e-healthcare has proven to reduce these costs through a higher one-time fee paid to a healthcare software provider/managing firm (other fees are assumed to be incurred, but the overall capital spent is less in the end). Other than capital management, e-healthcare will reduce medical errors and improve the overall quality of care. This is done by empowering the consumer.