I believe the main obstacle is getting physicians to admit a knowledge deficiency in an area they have never had the time to study. Fortunately, those in the upcoming generation of physicians have grown up with computers and used them in training. Consequently the next generation is much more comfortable with computers, have embraced the new technology and want to use it in their practices. The dilemma is how to get the middle and older generations of physicians, those of us over 35, to become computer literate, without insulting our intelligence. With the new technology physicians in different countries with expertise in a particular area can share medical information and resources without having to travel.
Physicians can work together, chatting via e-mail, and collaborate on papers and projects.
Often what is needed is the virtual hand-holding in the middle of the night. This website utilizes counseling, self-assessment and educational materials applying them in an Internet setting, to help people through the grief process. With over 81,000 visitors since April 1998, the Journey of Hearts website has been able to help far more people in coping with the grief response, in far less time, than a strictly office-based practice could have done. With the potential for combining different subject areas and different artistic modalities into a web-education tool, unlike that which is available in print or in the television media, the Internet is an untapped medium that can be used to enhance patient education. The innovative use of the Internet for education has been utilized by many backers of health sites pharmaceuticals, alternative practitioners, health care organizations and medical entrepreneurs.