These restricted formats may well be sufficient for many readers. Some people need access to the original data, others are satisfied with the full published paper, and many find that an abstract meets all their needs. But modern information technology can provide us with wonderful new ways of packaging and presenting information, a veritable smorgasbord from which users can feast to their heart's content. They do not want lengthy documents, impenetrable jargon, statistical manipulations, obscure methodologies, search strategies, critical appraisal, confusion, conflict and uncertainty, or abstract messages distant from their real concerns. We do not aim to emulate these purveyors of targeted information, but rather to learn from them.
Stories can convey a message, a truth beyond factual truth.
Vivid stories and anecdotes are among the most powerful tools that humans use to make decisions. We believe that they should be used more often to deliver, complement, amplify and reify other types of information. Eventually, we would like to look at the information needs of all concerned with health care decisions, including policy makers, hospital administrators, media, educators, patients and the general public, as well as those of clinicians. We would also like to explore other formats, other media, and different evaluation strategies. But this is meant to be an interactive feature.