This conversation reminded me of the Medpedia project. I admit that I haven't been a very active of the Medpedia project lately, but I hope to change that.
Are you familiar with the Medpedia project?
The Medpedia Project is a long-term, worldwide project to evolve a new model for sharing and advancing knowledge about health, medicine and the body among medical professionals and the general public. This model is founded on providing a free online technology platform that is collaborative, interdisciplinary and transparent.
In association with Harvard Medical School, Stanford School of Medicine, Berkeley School of Public Health, University of Michigan Medical School and other leading global health organizations, Medpedia will be a commons for the gathering of the information and people critical to health care. Many organizations have united to support The Medpedia Project.To learn more, visit: http://www.medpedia.com
"How do patients know what to trust when they read something online?" -- indeed. And do health professionals have a role in helping them? How about a duty?
ReplyDeleteThat is a very interesting issue - part of the greater debate over what is the proper role of a health professional online. Right now, the education and training of doctors is more frequently concerned with issues of professionalism in social networking when it comes to negative examples (inappropriate party photos, biased comments in public forums, etc.). Should the positive aspects -- such as providing accurate information, linking people to trustworthy health resources, publishing in open-source publications, and constructively debating social issues that affect health -- be something we expect from doctors? How might these activities be monitored or rewarded?
MedPedia really is doing something very innovative here, and I'd venture that it has a role in defining these standards in the future.