Since the early 1950s, computer technologies have been used to gather, manage, and disseminate health information.1 The development of microcomputer processing in the 1970s and its subsequent exponential increase in speed and memory, together with the proliferation of electronic network infrastructures to transmit large amounts of data (e.g., Internet, intranets, electronic medical records, telecommunication networks), have created ever-expanding opportunities to assess and deliver health information to individuals, groups, and populations.
