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Chapter 15: The Worldwide Digital Divide and Access to Healthcare Technology

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Technology and Global Public Health

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Abstract

In the twenty-first century, vast improvements in the quality and availability of telecommunication services have improved our lives beyond what we could have imagined just 50 years ago. We communicate, work, and can purchase almost anything we desire. Medicine has kept pace with these improvements; patients can now access their health records, order prescriptions, and access websites providing medical information.

However, not everyone can take advantage of the opportunities afforded by this new technology as a “digital divide” exists throughout the nations of the world. Today there are technological “haves” and “have-nots” with varying access to, or the ability to use, the reliable telecommunications technology necessary for the implementation of virtual medical alternatives. This chapter discusses some of the reasons for this divide and how it affects the ease of obtaining health care.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA

    Irene M. Wohlman

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  1. Irene M. Wohlman
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Correspondence to Irene M. Wohlman .

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  1. School of Health Sciences and Practice, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA

    Padmini Murthy

  2. School of Health Sciences and Practice, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA

    Amy Ansehl

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Wohlman, I.M. (2020). Chapter 15: The Worldwide Digital Divide and Access to Healthcare Technology. In: Murthy, P., Ansehl, A. (eds) Technology and Global Public Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46355-7_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46355-7_20

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