The nation's leading medical societies have joined forces to create Medem, an e-health network you can trust. Consumers have flocked online as an easy way to obtain detailed information about diseases affecting them and their family. Doctors have complained, though, about being barraged by patient queries sparked by questionable material found on the Internet. Medem, based in San Francisco, also hopes to attract consumers by providing a direct link to Web sites of physicians who sign up for the service. We felt much of the information being delivered on the Internet was inaccurate and out of context.
Doctors can have their fee covered by a sponsoring company.
No sponsors have been signed up yet. Art Caplan, director of the center for bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, said the AMA is on the right track helping doctors and patients use e-mail to communicate. Currently, less than 2 percent of doctors use e-mail with patients, though Caplan expects the numbers to soar as doctors realize they can more efficiently help consumers by answering their questions online. Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.