Ronald E. Rice (Ph.D. & M.A., Stanford University; B.A., Columbia University) is both the Arthur N. Rupe Chair in the Social Effects of Mass Communication in the Department of Communication and Co-Director of the Carsey-Wolf Center at UC, Santa Barbara. He has been elected divisional officer in the International Communication Association and the Academy of Management, elected President and Fellow of the ICA, awarded a Fulbright Award to Finland, appointed as Wee Kim Wee Professor and then University Professor of the School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Montreal. He has co-authored or co-edited ten books, including The New Media: Communication, Research and Technology (1984), and The Internet and Health Communication (2001), both also with SAGE. He is widely published in communication science, public communication campaigns, computer-mediated communication systems, methodology, organizational and management theory, information systems, information science and bibliometrics, and social networks.

• ForewordPrefacePart I: AN OVERVIEW OF EXPERIENCES AND EXPECTATIONS1. The Internet and Health Communication: A Framework of Experiences - Ronald E Rice2. The Future of the Internet in Health Care: A Five-Year Forecast - Robert Mittman and Mary CainPART II: SOURCES OF AND EXPERIENCES WITH ONLINE MEDICAL INFORMATION3. Consumer Use of Medical Information from Electronic and Paper Media - Philip M Napoli4. Assessments of Quality of Health Care Information and Referrals to Physicians: A Nationwide Survey - Philip Aspden and James E Katz 5. Use of the Internet for Professional Purposes: A Survey of New Jersey Physicians - Philip Aspden, James E Katz and Ann E. Bemis6. Expectations and Experiences of Infertility Information Seeking via the Internet and Telephone Directory - June Anigbougu and Ronald E RicePART III: EXPERIENCES DEVELOPING AND EVALUATING HEALTH INFORMATION SITES7. Using the Web to Assist Communities in Public Health Campaign Planning: A Case Study of the React Project - John Finnegan et al8. Evaluating a Federal Health-Related Web Site: A Multimethod Perspective on Medicare.gov - Sid Schneider et al9. A Pound of Cure: A Content Analysis of Health Information on Web Sites of Top-Ranked HMOs - Elizabeth Witherspoon10. A Comparative Features Analysis of Publicly Accessible Commercial and Government Health Database Websites - Ronald E Rice, Michael Peterson and Robert ChristinePART IV: EXPERIENCES OF ONLINE HEALTH COMMUNITIES AND OF ORGANIZATIONS MOVING TO E-COMMERCE11. Experiencing Empathy Online - Jennifer Preece and Kamiz Ghozati12. The Role of the Organization in the Success of Web-Based Continuing Medical Education Programs - Pamela S Whitten, Matthew S Eastin, and David Cook13. Improving Diabetes Care with Telecomputing Technology - Richard L Street, Jr., and Veronika K Piziak14. Web-Enabled Hospitals in the United States: Influences on Adoption Processes - Lauren B Eder and Donald E Wise15. Competitive Collaboration in Australia′s Pharmaceutical Industry - Elizabeth More and G Michael McGrathPART V: PUBLIC POLICY EXPERIENCES AND EXPECTATIONS16. ehealth: Federal Issues and Approaches - Cynthia Baur, Mary Jo Deering and Leslie Hsu17. Old Wine in Silicon Prescription Bottles: /Some Legal Issues, Benefits, and Disadvantages Associated With Internet Pharmacies - Barry D Bayer18. Networked Communication Practices and the Security and Privacy of Electronic Healthcare Records - James Katz and Philip AspdenConcluding Thoughts - James Katz and Ronald E Rice