Critical issues in bioinformatics and computing.

This article provides an overview of the field of bioinformatics and its implications for the various participants. Next-generation issues facing developers (programmers), users (molecular biologists), and the general public (patients) who would benefit from the potential applications are identified. The goal is to create awareness and debate on the opportunities (such as career paths) and the challenges such as privacy that arise. A triad model of the participants' roles and responsibilities is presented along with the identification of the challenges and possible solutions.