Even though the audience might be small, the expenses are drastically reduced. For example, a successful patient conference was held in September 1996 following the International MH Workshop and Symposium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In the 1980s, the need for standardization of diagnostic tests for MH became evident. A series of conferences attended by biopsy center representatives from the United States and Europe led to standardization of testing procedures as well as the development of information concerning sensitivity, specificity and predictive value of the test. As the 1980s progressed into the 1990s, the cost of education via alternative approaches became less prohibitive.
Audiotapes are particularly useful and cost-effective for longer length educational programs.
Prominent members of the risk management community as well as MH experts drawn from the anesthesia community contributed their time and expertise to this effort. In the future, it will be feasible to have videotapes and other multimedia programs available to all via the World Wide Web. Other MH organizations have already created Web pages, including the MH Association of Canada, the MH Association of Japan and the European MH Group. Some anesthesiology departments have information concerning MH as part of their Web sites as well. Of course, e-mail has become a must for all organizations in order to keep in contact with their constituencies.