Internet impact on the pharmaceutical and health care industry

As one of world's multi-billion dollar ventures, pharmaceutical industry plays a major role in its commitment to address a variety of health care problems; the complexities associated with the discovery of new drugs for combating some of the deadly human diseases, the accelerated efforts required to get through faster clinical trials procedures, and the compelling need for patient and physician education in today's emerging managed care environment are few of the numerous and notable pharmaceutical applications that are being significantly influenced by the utilization of modern high technology tools. A critical supplement to these is the alignment of information technology (IT) solutions which bring together scientists and engineers, patients and physicians, the technology tools and information resources in to an environment that promotes R&D growth, pharmaceutical cost effectiveness and health care education. The paper elucidates major application examples that demonstrate the IT impact on the pharmaceutical and health care industry.