By Karen Sandrick W. William Haines of MD Consult, St. Louis, Missouri, provided an overview of online surgical education sites from established CME publishers. Compared with other specialty CME on the Internet, there are few sites devoted to surgery, and many sites have limited information.
Most sites are highly focused, and most are free.
The quality of information the sites provide is mixed, however, and the credibility of the information is not always readily apparent. Increasing numbers of sites are using videos of surgical procedures. Videos are not exceptionally sharp, however, because of the low bandwidth of modem connections. The site offers only a few cardiac procedures at this time, complete with videos. Virtual Hospital provides information across several specialties.