28.1 Availing web-based resources Colin Parker Essentials 1 Web resources are becoming increasingly available and integrated into every day practice. 2 Web-based products would ideally provide clinical decision support platforms, rather than being simple data repositories. 3 Users should be able to generate web material more easily via new media such as blogs, forums, wikis, social networks, podcasts and online data storage. Accessing web-based resources While books are still a popular medium for doctors with regard to their daily work and learning needs, the rapid progression of web-based media demands that we have a working knowledge of how to utilise this evolving technology to its maximum effect. This chapter aims to briefly explore the needs of Paediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) staff, types of web-based solutions, and possible future trends. Needs of paediatric emergency medicine staff In previous times, resources for staff working in emergency departments (EDs) were scattered around notice boards, bookshelves, folders and in-trays. The technology to make these operational, educational and social resources available from a single portal is finally being utilised. Operational materials used in everyday clinical work include work rosters, memos, notice boards, directories, as well as clinical resources. Clinical guidelines and protocols of local, national and international origin, as well as traditional textbook-style content about diseases and conditions, can be used in a traditional stand-alone way. More significantly, tools for drug doses and other clinical calculations are paving the way for interactive clinical decision support platforms, where disease management algorithms can be integrated with patient flow, investigation ordering and interpretation, and the electronic health record. Educational materials are used to a lesser extent during everyday work and increasingly from home, the requirements varying between individuals and their learning needs. Traditionally these materials – mostly books – have been supplied by the hospital or ED library, or purchased by staff themselves for use at home. Interactive forms of learning such as lectures, tutorials and one-to-one supervision are still relevant, but can now be supplemented by newer technologies, to deliver content at a time and place convenient to the learner. Social needs should not be overlooked, because a cohesive team environment fosters good clinical care and flow of information. Solutions currently available on the web Web-based resources are rapidly evolving in terms of the modes of delivery as well as format and flow of content. As books give way to CD-ROMs and software based on desktop computers, so content has moved to the internet and can be retrieved from hand-held devices such as smart-phones via wireless networks or telephone service networks. A similar evolution is happening from static html to dynamic (database-driven) content, through Web 2.0 towards the semantic web. Traditionally, content has been provided by a limited number of authoritative sources, such as publishers of medical textbooks and journals, generally as high-quality, peer-reviewed paper publications. Many of these are reproduced on computer screens, as a paid service. While these providers will always have an important role as trustworthy sources, the trend is towards sharing more information for free, and greater use of flexible copyright licensing of intellectual property such as the Creative Commons. In the midst of this trend, content is funded either by sponsoring organisations such as governments or pharmaceutical companies, or by selling advertising on the web pages. Web 2.0 The original internet model of web pages being published by a webmaster and distributed in a one-to-many fashion is rapidly being replaced by the web 2.0 paradigm, where content is generated by the users themselves, updated continuously and shared in an interactive way. The advantages of this wisdom of crowds approach probably outweigh the disadvantages of allowing open access for anyone to edit online content. Web 2.0 is characterised by user-generated content, in the form of metadata tags, blogs, forums, wikis, social networks, online document storage, RSS feeds, and podcasts. Metadata, or information about data, is used to tag articles with keywords, in such a way that content from disparate sources can be browsed by clicking on the keywords associated with a particular item. This is sometimes displayed in the form of tag clouds, where commonly occurring keywords are displayed more prominently. Users can usually add metadata tags to an item, for the benefit of other users. Blogs (web logs) started out as personal online diaries for sharing with others. The simple tools which allow non-technical users to add and update web-pages have allowed blogs to evolve into an easy way for anyone to produce their own website. Many medical blogs have thousands of subscribers who receive updates via email or Really Simple Syndication (RSS). Users can leave comments, effectively supporting online discussions. Forums are a dedicated online space for discussion topics, usually highly specific to a defined area of interest. These discussion threads are effectively an online record of written conversation between two or more users, and their use by medical professionals, for professional and educational matters, has been relatively limited thus far. Wikis are web-pages that can be edited by any user, thus harnessing the power of collective knowledge, accelerating the editorial process, and keeping content current. Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter are increasingly being used by medical professionals to broaden their social and professional networks and to share knowledge. Recognised medical experts may have tens of thousands of followers who receive the snippets of information which they choose to share. Documents are increasingly stored on the web, in the so-called ‘Cloud’. Many services allow editing and sharing of documents online, as a smarter alternative to emailing multiple versions between collaborators, and enabling easy access from any web-accessible device. While many of us utilise the free electronic table of contents (eTOCs) services of reputable journals, often prompted by our local hospital libraries, personal experience suggests that this method of accessing information has limited usefulness. RSS is a way for information from multiple sources (feeds) to be pushed (rather than having to be actively fetched or pulled) to the user, and collated in one place, the RSS reader or feed aggregator. This allows the user to receive information in a much more efficient way than browsing journals or websites, and content can be viewed at a time and place of the clinician’s choice. Podcasts (portable broadcasts) and vodcasts (video podcasts or videocasts) are a utility which also push content to the user, in the form of audio or video content, which in the medical context usually means lectures, interviews or small-group discussions with a panel of experts. The major advantage for busy doctors and nurses is being able to enjoy these offerings while travelling, exercising, or relaxing at home. The challenge for healthcare professionals involves assessing the quality and trustworthiness of each of these sources of information. Patients and their families may be less aware of this issue as they utilise a similar spread of information sources. We may need to offer our guidance on the content they are getting from online forums, support groups and personal blogs. Future directions As medicine catches up with technological advances, we can look forward to unrestricted, high-speed wireless internet access in our EDs, using hand-held and bedside devices which integrate with decision-support software and the Electronic Health Record. Information flow to patients could be facilitated by these new systems, including the electronic provision of summaries of clinical information, test results, discharge instructions, and medication lists. Educational interactive spaces incorporating RSS feeds, blogs, vodcasts, editable wikis and reference documents will probably be combined in an interactive platform where users can ask questions and discuss topics as an online community, from the comfort of home. Hopefully, technical standards will continue to converge, allowing EDs around the country and around the world to combine their resources of hardware and data via the concept of grid computing and the deep web. By sharing unified, coordinated mega-databases of clinical data, investigation results, treatments and outcomes, we could potentially combine thousands of clinician lifetimes of individual experience into an intelligent, cohesive resource. Taking this a step further, we might eventually see internationally-coordinated administration of epidemiological data, clinical research, decision support via neural networks, and even generating new hypotheses for research via artificial intelligence systems constantly re-examining the body of clinical data. Only gold members can continue reading. 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28.1 Availing web-based resources Colin Parker Essentials 1 Web resources are becoming increasingly available and integrated into every day practice. 2 Web-based products would ideally provide clinical decision support platforms, rather than being simple data repositories. 3 Users should be able to generate web material more easily via new media such as blogs, forums, wikis, social networks, podcasts and online data storage. Accessing web-based resources While books are still a popular medium for doctors with regard to their daily work and learning needs, the rapid progression of web-based media demands that we have a working knowledge of how to utilise this evolving technology to its maximum effect. This chapter aims to briefly explore the needs of Paediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) staff, types of web-based solutions, and possible future trends. Needs of paediatric emergency medicine staff In previous times, resources for staff working in emergency departments (EDs) were scattered around notice boards, bookshelves, folders and in-trays. The technology to make these operational, educational and social resources available from a single portal is finally being utilised. Operational materials used in everyday clinical work include work rosters, memos, notice boards, directories, as well as clinical resources. Clinical guidelines and protocols of local, national and international origin, as well as traditional textbook-style content about diseases and conditions, can be used in a traditional stand-alone way. More significantly, tools for drug doses and other clinical calculations are paving the way for interactive clinical decision support platforms, where disease management algorithms can be integrated with patient flow, investigation ordering and interpretation, and the electronic health record. Educational materials are used to a lesser extent during everyday work and increasingly from home, the requirements varying between individuals and their learning needs. Traditionally these materials – mostly books – have been supplied by the hospital or ED library, or purchased by staff themselves for use at home. Interactive forms of learning such as lectures, tutorials and one-to-one supervision are still relevant, but can now be supplemented by newer technologies, to deliver content at a time and place convenient to the learner. Social needs should not be overlooked, because a cohesive team environment fosters good clinical care and flow of information. Solutions currently available on the web Web-based resources are rapidly evolving in terms of the modes of delivery as well as format and flow of content. As books give way to CD-ROMs and software based on desktop computers, so content has moved to the internet and can be retrieved from hand-held devices such as smart-phones via wireless networks or telephone service networks. A similar evolution is happening from static html to dynamic (database-driven) content, through Web 2.0 towards the semantic web. Traditionally, content has been provided by a limited number of authoritative sources, such as publishers of medical textbooks and journals, generally as high-quality, peer-reviewed paper publications. Many of these are reproduced on computer screens, as a paid service. While these providers will always have an important role as trustworthy sources, the trend is towards sharing more information for free, and greater use of flexible copyright licensing of intellectual property such as the Creative Commons. In the midst of this trend, content is funded either by sponsoring organisations such as governments or pharmaceutical companies, or by selling advertising on the web pages. Web 2.0 The original internet model of web pages being published by a webmaster and distributed in a one-to-many fashion is rapidly being replaced by the web 2.0 paradigm, where content is generated by the users themselves, updated continuously and shared in an interactive way. The advantages of this wisdom of crowds approach probably outweigh the disadvantages of allowing open access for anyone to edit online content. Web 2.0 is characterised by user-generated content, in the form of metadata tags, blogs, forums, wikis, social networks, online document storage, RSS feeds, and podcasts. Metadata, or information about data, is used to tag articles with keywords, in such a way that content from disparate sources can be browsed by clicking on the keywords associated with a particular item. This is sometimes displayed in the form of tag clouds, where commonly occurring keywords are displayed more prominently. Users can usually add metadata tags to an item, for the benefit of other users. Blogs (web logs) started out as personal online diaries for sharing with others. The simple tools which allow non-technical users to add and update web-pages have allowed blogs to evolve into an easy way for anyone to produce their own website. Many medical blogs have thousands of subscribers who receive updates via email or Really Simple Syndication (RSS). Users can leave comments, effectively supporting online discussions. Forums are a dedicated online space for discussion topics, usually highly specific to a defined area of interest. These discussion threads are effectively an online record of written conversation between two or more users, and their use by medical professionals, for professional and educational matters, has been relatively limited thus far. Wikis are web-pages that can be edited by any user, thus harnessing the power of collective knowledge, accelerating the editorial process, and keeping content current. Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter are increasingly being used by medical professionals to broaden their social and professional networks and to share knowledge. Recognised medical experts may have tens of thousands of followers who receive the snippets of information which they choose to share. Documents are increasingly stored on the web, in the so-called ‘Cloud’. Many services allow editing and sharing of documents online, as a smarter alternative to emailing multiple versions between collaborators, and enabling easy access from any web-accessible device. While many of us utilise the free electronic table of contents (eTOCs) services of reputable journals, often prompted by our local hospital libraries, personal experience suggests that this method of accessing information has limited usefulness. RSS is a way for information from multiple sources (feeds) to be pushed (rather than having to be actively fetched or pulled) to the user, and collated in one place, the RSS reader or feed aggregator. This allows the user to receive information in a much more efficient way than browsing journals or websites, and content can be viewed at a time and place of the clinician’s choice. Podcasts (portable broadcasts) and vodcasts (video podcasts or videocasts) are a utility which also push content to the user, in the form of audio or video content, which in the medical context usually means lectures, interviews or small-group discussions with a panel of experts. The major advantage for busy doctors and nurses is being able to enjoy these offerings while travelling, exercising, or relaxing at home. The challenge for healthcare professionals involves assessing the quality and trustworthiness of each of these sources of information. Patients and their families may be less aware of this issue as they utilise a similar spread of information sources. We may need to offer our guidance on the content they are getting from online forums, support groups and personal blogs. Future directions As medicine catches up with technological advances, we can look forward to unrestricted, high-speed wireless internet access in our EDs, using hand-held and bedside devices which integrate with decision-support software and the Electronic Health Record. Information flow to patients could be facilitated by these new systems, including the electronic provision of summaries of clinical information, test results, discharge instructions, and medication lists. Educational interactive spaces incorporating RSS feeds, blogs, vodcasts, editable wikis and reference documents will probably be combined in an interactive platform where users can ask questions and discuss topics as an online community, from the comfort of home. Hopefully, technical standards will continue to converge, allowing EDs around the country and around the world to combine their resources of hardware and data via the concept of grid computing and the deep web. By sharing unified, coordinated mega-databases of clinical data, investigation results, treatments and outcomes, we could potentially combine thousands of clinician lifetimes of individual experience into an intelligent, cohesive resource. Taking this a step further, we might eventually see internationally-coordinated administration of epidemiological data, clinical research, decision support via neural networks, and even generating new hypotheses for research via artificial intelligence systems constantly re-examining the body of clinical data. Only gold members can continue reading. Log In or Register to continue Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Related Related posts: Syncope Abdominal and pelvic trauma Paediatric advanced life support (PALS, APLS) Pertussis Infective endocarditis Specific poisons Stay updated, free articles. Join our Telegram channel Join Tags: Textbook of Paediatric Emergency Medicine Sep 7, 2016 | Posted by admin in EMERGENCY MEDICINE | Comments Off on Availing web-based resources Full access? Get Clinical Tree
