There's no going back. We are headed for a future where healthcare will be dominated by information and communication technologies, and like it or not we must learn how to adapt and use it skillfully and effectively for the good of our patients. In so many ways, healthcare is improved by technological innovations that allow us to effectively diagnose and treat illness and relieve suffering. However, as technology evolves and as the skills necessary to use that technology become increasingly difficult and selective to attain, so grows the risk that healthcare will become technology centric rather than patient centric.

Multiple forms of informational technology are rapidly being developed and deployed. Electronic medical records, telephone intervention and triage centers, email diagnosis and prescribing, transmission of medical images, remote monitoring, and videoconferencing are all inundating the healthcare field. For healthcare providers to remain focused on their primary goal, a studied and balanced approach must be taken that will allow the introduction of innovative interventions without losing sight of the patient as having unique needs, recognizing that there is potential for harm and abuse, and that “one size does not fit all” in the application of new forms of treatment and technology. Stanberry argues that telehealth presents us with unique and ethically appropriate opportunities for both the patient and the clinician when it is implemented in direct response to clear clinical needs, but warns against excessive reliance upon technology to the detriment of traditional provider-patient relationships and cautions against complacency regarding the risks and responsibilities that distant medical intervention, consultation, and diagnosis carry.