June 1997
Volume 61 |
Number 6
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RESIDENTS' REVIEW
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| Anesthesiology
and the Internet |
Robert D. Chen, M.D.
In the year 2005, while sipping on a cup of cappuccino in the
morning, I take a virtual 3D tour of a difficult airway while
reading my e-mail, reviewing multiple discussions on the latest
developments for a new intrathecal calcium channel blocker. At
the same time, my research partners in Australia send a secured
transmission with the latest data on phase three trials of a new
inhalational agent. In the preoperative area, my first patient
thanks me for promptly replying via e-mail about his concerns
during the postoperative recovery period and pain management as
well as providing relevant Web resources. That evening from my
living room, I participate in a teleconference with physicians
from around the world about the current trends in board certification
in anesthesiology. Afterward, I access the cardiac catheterization
results from a hospital in Munich, Germany, review the patient's
labs and order preoperative medication for tomorrow's case from
home.
Today the above scenario is rapidly becoming less of a fantasy.
In January 1997, there were more than 10 million World Wide Web
sites in the United States, which represented a 23-percent growth
over 1996.1 Electronic mail, the
Internet and the World Wide Web are becoming one of the most rapidly
growing forms of communication that has existed in human history.
Despite this phenomenal growth, only a fraction of health care
workers are utilizing e-mail or the World Wide Web.
This is an exciting time for anesthesiologists to be a part of
this new world of information. The Internet can help to redefine
the role and identity of anesthesiology in an era when there are
legislative and reimbursement issues questioning our specialty's
very relevance in patient care. The potential exists for anesthesiologists
to take a leading role in educating the public and the rest of
the medical community about perioperative medicine and the role
of the perioperative physician.
This is our opportunity to provide easily accessible information
for the general public and our fellow peers. We can act not only
as consultants to our peers in anesthesiology, surgery and medicine,
but we can develop a closer relationship between departments from
around the world. We can also further enhance our relationships
with our patients by providing Internet sites, discussion groups
and newsgroups to promote a more educated patient population and
to act as liaisons for our patients for this brief but critical
period of their lives. Patients could be educated weeks ahead
of their scheduled surgery about the use of patient-controlled
analgesia pumps, general anesthesia and invasive monitoring, and
their questions or concerns could be answered. Patients could
take virtual tours of the operating room from home to familiarize
themselves with what is for them a strange and foreign environment.
Long-term postoperative follow-up could be done weeks to months
after the surgery, further enhancing the relationship between
the anesthesiologist and the patient.
As one of the principal developers of the Web site at the Johns
Hopkins School of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology and Critical
Care Medicine, I have come to discover the vast resources presently
available to the public. One of my tasks has been to design a
link page of resources for the public. Surprisingly, after wading
through the Internet, I find that very little literature exists
for the public concerning the role that anesthesiologists play
during their surgery. I believe that this will be one of many
possible starting points where patients can educate themselves
and develop a relationship with their health care providers.
In the future, the relationship between the public and anesthesiologists
outside the operating room will surely be as important as their
intraoperative relationship. The Internet will simply be one of
many tools to accomplish that goal.
Reference:
1. Network Wizards. 1997.
Robert D. Chen, M.D., is an anesthesiology
resident in his CA-2 year at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore,
Maryland.
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