THE IMPACT OF INTERNET IN HEALTH CARE DELIVERY SYSTEM (A CASE STUDY OF GENERAL HOSPITAL KUBWA, ABUJA)

Advances in several key communication and information technologies are worth tracking for their impact on interactive health communication and ability to meet .customers' demands. One of these technologies is the inte1net. It is based on this that this research work is cal1'ied out to dete1mine the level at which the internet has been able to improve the delivery of healthcare services in the healthcare delivery system in Nigeria. An explanatory research methodology was adopted in the course of this study, of which both healthcare providers and consumers within and around the General Hospital, Kubwa was used as a sample size .. The data which were obtained through questionnaire administration were analyzed · using the simple percentage method and the likert rating scale method. The system was implemented using visual basic 6.0. The _result of the analysis shows that the internet has not been able to create absolute impact in the healthcare delivery system in Nigeria, despite the ad':ances in ICT. Based on this finding the study recommends that adequate measures should be taken in order to implement the adequate use of internet in healthcare delivery system in the country, to improve tbe level communication between healthcar providers and the consumers of health. The study also recommends the iptroduction of Telemedicine . for easy accessibility of healthcare services especially for patients in remote locations.