Coming Soon - Medpedia: A Collaborative Encyclopedia for Health Care
Fortunately, "Only trained professionals will be able to write and edit pages on the Web site, and all contributors will have individual author pages detailing their qualifications and backgrounds..."
...Mr. Currier is aiming to build the most complete database of information from medical professionals and combine it with forums for consumers and patients to share treatment stories, raise questions and directly engage with the physicians editing Medpedia’s content.We need to take our health into our own hands, educate, and empower ourselves after we leave our doctor's office. Because, sometimes, there's just too many unanswered questions and doc. has too little time for each individual patient.
Patients need to take more active roles in the health care process, he said, which is why he wants to eventually add procedural guides to help patients prepare for surgeries and treatments, recommended questions for patients to ask their doctors, average procedural costs and informational videos. Medpedia will also contain debate pages housed separately from the neutral information pages. That way, physicians can engage in academic dialogues about hot issues such as whether or not local drinking water should be supplemented with folic acid.Thank goodness for the internet.“The need for medical literacy is only increasing,” Mr. Currier said.
Medpedia could also play a role in revamping the physician referral system. The site has a built-in social networking directory modeled after LinkedIn for medical professionals to help patients get a broader view of specialists in their geographical areas.
Medpedia’s approach will be appealing to the new crop of doctors finishing their residencies, who have grown up on the Internet and are used to communicating this way, he said. “They’re going to get credit for it and get recognized in an international medical community for their contributions,” he said. “It can also be used as a platform for publishing journals –- this will be the place to put out information and knowledge.”
But, don't forget about our local libraries for that book you need but maybe can't afford right this moment. It's there, remember the card catalog?
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