Transformative Impact of the Internet on the Boundaries for the Physician Profession: Why Materiality Matters

Abstract

Over the last 25 years, the health care sector has undergone a digital transformation; health issues and medical conditions are increasingly managed with the support of digital health technology. The internet has transformed the boundaries around physicians’ work, which raises questions about how technological artifacts are transforming the boundaries that have traditionally existed between the health care professions and patients regarding information and knowledge. This viewpoint paper analyzes how digital health technologies can transform the boundaries of physicians’ work by examining 3 examples of technology aimed at patients or citizens: Open Notes, PatientsLikeMe, and Apple Watch. Traditionally, the physician profession drew the boundaries that separated it from other professions and patients to define and protect its jurisdiction and professional knowledge. However, in the 3 artifacts analyzed, technology changes the boundaries between laypeople and physicians. Therefore, health technologies aimed at citizens impact health care and its professions, and the materiality of artifacts can change the boundaries between physicians and citizens. Thus, the initiators and developers of technology aimed at patients or citizens may have the power to transform the field of knowledge in health care.