'Healthy' use of the internet
About 50 Queensland doctors are participating in the world's first trial of an electronic information search service for general practitioners.
The 12 month trial is being carried out by the University of Queensland's Centre for General Practice following a $100,000 grant from the Commonwealth funding body, the General Practice Evaluation Program.
Under the trial, participating doctors request high quality information on specific medical topics or evidence regarding the effectiveness of drugs or treatment methods. Using the internet and other electronic search techniques, the service searches the thousands of medical journals published throughout the world, interprets the information and delivers electronic or hard copy to the doctor free of charge.
While the service uses the internet to search for relevant information, health-related web sites generally do not provide the quality of information required.
Professor of General Practice at the Centre, Professor Chris Del Mar, said the service reflected the ?Age of Information', the changing role of doctors and the increasing desire by patients for ?evidence based' medicine.
"Doctors used to be the custodians of knowledge, but now it's common for patients to bring information they have downloaded from the internet to their doctors to discuss their health care options," he said. "This involvement by patients is dramatically changing the way doctors work. Rather than simply doling out information, doctors are more often interpreting what patients bring in."
Professor Del Mar said if a GP received and read every medical journal published, he would have a pile of them 150m high by the end of the year.
"It is easy to criticise doctors for not using the most up-to-date research in their everyday decisions, however the sheer volume of new research information that they have to deal with is astronomical. Moreover, the research is often contradictory." Professor Del Mar said that although the trial began only three months ago, the service had the potential to be a vital resource for GPs in the future.
The University of Queensland was named Australian University of the Year in 1998 and is a recognised leader in medical and health-related research and teaching.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Professor Chris Del Mar 07-3365 5379
