CONCLUDING REMARKS
Considering the opportunities that are created almost on a daily-basis by the current trends, one can utilize the Internet to develop a platform that can tie together the fragmented parties such as healthcare service providers, payers, and patients. The technology made possible by the Internet has the potential to establish a rather comprehensive communication network among these participants. By using this network, the efficiency and the satisfaction in the marketplace can be improved as the overhead costs are lowered. While these are valid potentials, they should not be taken for granted.As with every new practice,ther eare issues that one needs to explore fully to take advantage of these potentials. It is necessary to look into these issues since they present serious concerns in terms of practicality of e-commerce in healthcare marketing.Even though one may be able to combine the marketing perspective with the new information technologies offered by the Internet, one has to recognize and incorporate the human factor unique to the healthcare field. This factor includes concerns ranging from the accuracy of the Internet information to the privacy of the personal information communicated among the parties on the net. These concerns can present lot more serious challenges in the future if they are not addressed properly by the current participants. It is hoped that the review of the issues raised in this paper will provide researchers with added incentives to conduct further inquiries about e-commerce in healthcare marketing.