Medsite's Dr. Vincent E. Friedewald Discusses Mounting Effects of Internet On Healthcare
Executive Medical Editor Of Medsite Tells Physician Organizations Internet Will Enhance Current Professional Practices
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 14, 2000--Dr. Vincent E. Friedewald, Executive Medical Editor of Medsite, the physician's home on the Internet,
addressed key issues raised by the Internet's profound effect on the world of healthcare at the fifth annual Physician Organizations conference on March 13, 2000.
Dr. Friedewald told the group that like print, audio and video formats, the Internet is simply another medium through which we communicate. The utility of the
Internet as a communication vehicle, therefore, is contingent upon its ability to surmount what he identified as the traditional barriers in communications, namely,
distribution, attention, perception, and retention.
In order for physicians to realize the Internet's clinical potential, it is necessary to understand how physicians use the Internet and what problems need to be
addressed for future development. Citing results of the 2000 American Medical Association's Study on Physicians' Use of the World Wide Web, Dr. Friedewald
highlighted physicians' acceptance and reluctance to embrace certain aspects of the Internet's provisions within their practice. Evidence suggests that while
physicians' adoption of the Internet as a true, integral part of medical practice has been slow, its major presence is inevitable as the Internet addresses doctors'
demands and concerns.
Dr. Friedewald admitted that while the Internet indeed is unique in that it overcomes the distribution barrier, it poses new challenges to other barriers, like attention
and retention. ``With an incredible number of websites presenting more information than we can print, and a virtually infinite network of links between them, the
greatest challenge to any single site is to attract and sustain attention. And, as everyone has experienced, you can't rely on mere search engines to take you where
you need to go. Invariably, search engines lack the true horsepower ideally required to discern the beneficial from the banal,' he told the audience.
``The Internet should not change the way doctors practice medicine, but should only enhance it,' Dr. Friedewald said. ``Our goal is not to replace doctors, but only
to make their already difficult jobs a little easier.' Many physicians have found the Internet useful to enrich their own continuing educations, an aspect of the
Internet that will become even more valuable when impending convergence technologies become a widespread reality. He explained that the impact on direct patient
care will not truly mature until Internet information is available at the point-of-care, providing diagnostic and treatment assistance to the practitioner, as well as
making possible instant patient education materials.
``Communication history tells us that we don't really know where the Internet is taking us,' Dr. Friedewald concluded. ``However, technological advancements,
such as convergence, miniaturization of hardware, and declining technical costs suggest that it will eventually evolve into a very different, and, hopefully, very
dramatic, adjunct to our ability to practice high quality medicine.'
Of the countless variables essential to understanding the relationship between physicians and the Internet, Dr. Friedewald asked the audience to remember just one:
``Regardless of any other consideration, if you aren't using the Internet, beware: your patients are.' |
