Below are statements by the chairs of the IT Initiative's seven planning committees on the probable directions they will take.

Educational Computing

Chair: Michael Rosenblatt, Harvard Faculty Dean for Academic Programs at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital

"We will consider the use of computers in problem-based and case method education that takes advantage of their interactive nature. We will also determine the potential role of virtual reality in our curriculum. Finally, we will explore ways in which computers can support the infrastructure of medical education to access information, support HMS courses through Web pages, and facilitate student-faculty interactions."

ADAPT and Administrative Systems

Chair: John Deeley, Administrative Dean of Harvard Medical School

"Our committee will identify computer systems that will support the administrative functions of HMS over the next ten years. As guides, we will use the dean's priorities and focus group discussions with administrative units. Project ADAPT, the University's new financial and human resource system, will be a special focus of our group since its implementation will have a major impact on the HMS community over the next three to five years."

Digital Library

Chair: Judy Messerle, Countway Library Director

"Our committee will focus on the future use of electronic and network technology. I expect that we will be examining such things as wide distribution of full textbooks and journals, and bibliographic, numeric, image, genetic, and other databases. We will also be looking at effective use of digital technology to organize and manage the overwhelming stream of information that is currently available to the biomedical community."

Hospital Linkages

Chair: George Thibault, Professor of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital

"This is a very important initiative to make use of information technology to enhance communication among the Harvard-affiliated hospitals. It will benefit our faculty, our students, and our trainees."

Research Computing and Bioinformatics

Chair: Philip Leder, Head of the Department of Genetics

"The research applications of information technology are clearly essential to the growth of knowledge in biomedicine. Simply put, our goal is to assess today's research needs and create an information technology system that will accommodate those needs and be flexible enough to accommodate tomorrow's, as well."

Distance Learning

Chair: Tony Komaroff, Editor in Chief, Harvard Medical Publications

"The committee will examine the potential of providing educational programs via the Internet to various possible audiences. The most obvious audience is practicing physicians seeking continuing medical education. The committee will also explore the potential of providing curricular materials, via the Internet, to medical students and other health professional students at other universities."

Clinical Research

Chair: William Crowley Jr., Professor of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital

"This committee will focus on developing a master plan to provide informational support about clinical research across Harvard Medical School and its affiliated clinical settings. This Web-based system will be designed to serve as a resource to patients, their families, their physicians, the clinical investigative community, the NIH, and industry."