The analysis in this study focuses on the nature and scope of the expanding role of information and communication technologies (IT) in the design and development of healthcare products and services, delivery systems and healthcare administration. The study traces the potential impact of IT on costs, efficiency and equity as a driver of cross-border trade and investments and notes that IT can play an important role in enabling the world’s poor to access essential healthcare products and services in new innovative forms if the challenges that inhibit its diffusion in developing countries can be addressed through appropriate policy choices. The study points to the need for further research of how IT affects costs of diagnosis and treatment with respect to specific disease burdens at
particular locations to resolve tensions between efficiency and equity
