Media Advisory April 20, 1999
Contact: Mary Jo Deering 202-260-2652

 U.S. DHHS REPORT: "WIRED FOR HEALTH AND WELL BEING"
TO BE RELEASED APRIL 28TH

Washington D.C.- On Wednesday, April 28th, 10:15 a.m., the final report of
the Science Panel on Interactive Communication and Health, "Wired for Health
and Well Being: The Emergence of Interactive Health Communication," will be
released.  Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
the report will be released during "The Emerging Health Information
Infrastructure Conference" taking place at the Renaissance Washington D.C.
Hotel, located at 999 - 9th Street NW (above H St.), in the Congressional
Hall C Room.

Study Director, Thomas Eng, VMD, MPH, will release the report at the 10:15
a.m. press availability, and states that, "A culture of scientific
evaluation is needed to help ensure the reliability of the health
information that consumers are so readily accessing over the Web."  Also
available for interview will be David Gustafson, PhD, Panel Chair; and Kevin
Patrick, MD, Panel Member.  Timely and helpful data on consumer use of Web
health information will be handed out in a press kit.

Of additional interest to the media will be the 8:45 a.m. plenary session,
"Consumer Health Information," also on April 28.  This session will include
a live telehealth demonstration, as well as speakers: Senator Edward Kennedy
(invited); Charles Safran, MD, Harvard Medical School; and Ellen Zangla,
Manager, The Health Channel, AOL.

The Science Panel on Interactive Communication and Health is comprised of 14
nationally recognized experts from a variety of disciplines related to
interactive technologies and health.  "The challenge of the next decade will
be to transcend the surface appeal of these technologies and to understand
and harness their power to improve the health of individuals and
communities," stated a preliminary article by the Science Panel which
appeared in the 10/14/98 issue of JAMA.

The emergence of the field interactive health communication raises several
major questions about its status, its future, and its ultimate impact on
public health and health care.  These pivotal questions are directly
addressed in the final report, which includes a forward by U.S. Surgeon
General Satcher.  The report provides stakeholders -- including consumers,
health professionals, developers and users of applications, and policy
makers - guidance to help them make critical decisions about the use,
purchase, design, and implementation of these emerging communication
technologies.
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