1997 Partnerships for Networked Consumer Health Information Conference

Transcripts of Plenary Sessions and Breakout Sessions

Welcome and Remarks

Tuesday, April 15
9:00 - 9:30 AM

The Honorable Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services:

Thank you, Ms. Stoiber. We come together today to use the technology of the future to accomplish an age-old goal: good health. Today, on a day when Americans give to their government, we're announcing a new way that we are giving back.

Since the day I arrived at our Department, I made it clear that the era of public health brochures is over. I knew that to keep up with today's fast-paced, global information technology, we had to improve our ability to reach people in the right way, at the right time, with just the right health information. And I knew that the Internet and the World Wide Web, and other exciting gateways, could help us do just that.

The fact is, more than ever before, Americans are taking an active role in their health care. And more than ever before, they're turning to the Internet. We already have gigabytes of health information out there, in the uncharted realms of cyberspace, or as some have described it, "cyberclutter."

And that's the point. Parents often joke about not being able to see their child's cute face beneath smears of chocolate. Likewise, we can provide the most up-to-date, effective health information in the world, but it won't do any good if the poeple who need it can't find it. We need to say goodbye to the days when surfing the Internet for health information often meant navigating waves of confusing information from a swell of unreliable sources.

It's time to give Americans a smoother ride. It's time to give them user-friendly tools so they can prevent illness and take an active role in their health and health care. And it's time to give every physician, every health care organization, every family, every consumer, one-stop shopping for health information.

That's why I'm pleased to announce our new web site. It's called healthfinder™, and it's a state-of-the-art gateway connecting people to health information that is clear, reliable, and -- most important -- all in one place. Now, with the click of a mouse, a pregnant woman can learn about the dangers of smoking and find ways to kick the habit. With one click of a mouse, an elderly man can find out how to improve his diet and prevent heart disease and cancer. And with the click of a mouse, a physician can help a breast cancer survivor find support from other women who share, not only her disease, but also her pain.

This is a great opportunity. But with it comes an even greater responsibility. A responsibility to ensure that these revolutions in information and health care narrow -- not widen -- the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Clearly, not everyone can buy a computer. But in our libraries, our schools, our universities, and throughout our communities, we have the responsibility to ensure that all Americans can get online and get healthy.

As that wise old sage Yogi Berra once said, "The future isn't what it used to be." As we navigate into the 21st Century, it's up to each of us to make the future what it can be. And what it must be. Thank you.

1.8 meg AVI video clip

The Honorable Al Gore, Vice President of the United States: Good morning. Thank you, Secretary Shalala, for inviting me to be part of your third national conference, Partnerships for Networked Consumer Health Information.

The power of the Internet is rapidly expanding, and it seems rather fitting that I'm joining you as a kind of a "virtual participant," you might say, as you announce a new online service. This conference is important in spotlighting how the Internet is bringing vital health information to people in their homes and communities. My congratulations to the conference sponsors, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

We hear a lot about how managed care is changing our health care system. What we don't hear is how consumers themselves are changing it. They are increasingly active in managing their own health and medical care. They ask questions, and they want answers. They want to know how to stay healthy, how to find good doctors, and how to make difficult medical choices. More and more, they are turning to the Internet to get the information they need. Reports tell us that nearly 40% of the general Internet user population regularly accesses health and medical information.

The wealth of information is, of course, a mixed blessing. Finding high quality information that is accurate, timely, relevant, and unbiased can be a daunting challenge to even the most experienced Web surfer.

By launching healthfinder, a federal consumer health information gateway, we are able to make our information resources available to the public in a user-friendly fashion. healthfinder will provide the public with easier access to more quality federal consumer health information than is available now from any single source on the World Wide Web.

This conference makes an important contribution to our understanding of the potential for online health information. It brings together representatives of the health care sector, telecommunications and information services providers, voluntary organizations, the policy and research communities, and public agencies with the consumers themselves. Together you can assess how these dynamic developments are changing health and health care in America today. I urge you to keep up the good work. Best of luck.

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