The medium and the message: opportunities and challenges.

Critical care was born in the belief that coupling clinical expertise with state-of-the-art technology for monitoring and care delivery would improve outcomes for the sickest patients. That promise has continued to be fulfilled, with additional improvements in care as clinical technologies have advanced dramatically. The movement to use technology to enhance providers’ abilities to care more effectively and efficiently for critically ill patients is exemplified by the electronic intensive care unit. Whereas technology for patient care has expanded rapidly, technology for research dissemination has proceeded at a much slower pace. The next frontier for critical care may be integration of new media technologies to enable better application of research at the bedside.