July 23, 2008
Medpedia: A New Model for Health Information
Creating the worlds largest body of health information on the web is no easy feat but Internet entrepreneurs are teaming with doctors, researchers and other medical professionals to create Medpedia - a Wikipedia for health.
According to an article in today's LA Times, the website which is in its beginning stages is being written and edited only by trained professionals and will gather the kind of knowledge usually confined to academic circles and make it understandable and available to consumers.
Finding credible, understandable health information on the Net has been a challenge and source of frustration for consumers and although there are sources for disease information and treatment options such as WebMD or Healtline, medical information is described by James Currier, founder and chairman of Medpedia, as 'one of the least developed areas of the Internet' according to the LA Times article.
This concept has generated a great deal of interest from medical establishment including physicians, medical schools, hospitals, health organizations and public health professionals. Harvard Medical School, Stanford School of Medicine and the UC Berkeley School of Public Health have expressed an interest in participating in the project. The site will receive content from the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control, and possibily provide information on current clinical trials for various diseases and conditions.
Over the next few years, Medpedia's goal is to recruit thousands of health experts to create content for more than 30,000 diseases and conditions, more than 10,000 prescription drugs, thousands of medical procedures and millions of medical facilities around the world.
Source: LA Times