Effects of current and future information technologies on the health care workforce

Information technologies have the potential to affect the types and distribution of jobs in the health care workforce. Against a background of an explosively growing body of knowledge in the health sciences, current models of clinical decision making by autonomous practitioners, relying upon their memory and personal experience, will be inadequate for effective twenty-first-century health care delivery. The growth of consumerism and the proliferation of Internet-accessible sources of health-related information will modify the traditional roles of provider and patient and will provide opportunities for new kinds of employment in health-related professions.