The organizer of the list, a Belgian radiologist, believes the service could become a complement to scientific journals, especially for radiologists in countries without access to quality educational materials. Eufora was started two years ago by Dr. Erik Ranschaert of Fusieziekenhuis H. Hart in Ninove, Belgium. Ranschaert was looking for an easy way to spur collaboration and discussion among European radiologists, and saw e-mail as the perfect vehicle. But it differs in that the messages are e-mailed to the entire mailing list, rather than residing on a particular Web site. Subscribers can screen which e-mails they wish to read by the message's subject line, which describes the subspecialty topic of the message.
Doctors often post questions about highly unusual cases, and get answers by the next day.
Several radiologists usually respond to postings with specific diagnostic advice or imaging protocols they've learned from similar cases. Each co-owner has responsibility over a specific subspecialty or topic, and they are also asked to stimulate discussion and help publicize the mailing list. The co-owners are also responsible for making sure that the discussions on Eufora are relevant to the clinical practice of medical imaging. But co-owners do have the power to delete from the list any subscribers that submit irrelevant comments. Ranschaert hopes that Eufora will ultimately become a complement to journals and other more traditional resources as a medium for disseminating information about radiology, especially in countries that are starved for collaboration with more experienced colleagues.