Medicine and the Internet aims to introduce doctors and medical students to communications tools and healthcare information available on the Internet and other on-line services. The book is split into six sections which cover subjects from getting started through to becoming an information provider on the Internet. If you have ever wondered what ®le transfer protocols are, or what the ethical implications of the use of e-mail in doctor±patient communications would be, then this book endeavours to provide the answers. To keep the information up to date there is also a complementary web site which oers free updates to the information in the book.
This is an ambitious book covering a wide selection of topics related to the Internet and medicine. Inevitably it covers some subjects better than others. There is a mix of technical and practical advice concerning the use of the Internet by medical professionals. The nature of the subject matter means that the book also enters into some quite technical areas related to computers. In most instances this is justi®ed because in order to get the best out of the Internet some technical knowledge is an advantage. Without an understanding of the jargon the Internet can become very confusing.
Part one of the book `Getting Started' goes right back to basics showing how a computer works, giving advice on choosing a computer, modems and software. The section on choosing a computer is aimed at the complete novice, providing simple explanations as to what the various parts of a computer do. The book then goes on to describe in some detail the relatively complex area of how modems work. This is typical of the book, having chapters dealing with the basics alongside chapters aimed at the more experienced. For those people who are already using a modem this part of the book will be useful in diagnosing and dealing with problems. If you are thinking of connecting to bulletin boards or other on-line services and know very little about the mechanics of how to do it then this chapter is a good starting point.
Part two `Going On-line' covers basic on-line services such as using bulletin boards and e-mail, with examples of services such as Medline, CompuServe and UK HealthLink. For those who have never used e-mail before there is advice on the etiquette, or Netiquette, of the on-line world. Medical professionals considering using email as a system for communicating with patients will ®nd a useful discussion of the advantages, disadvantages and legal issues of using the technology in this way. For those who are looking to use on-line sources for research there is advice on citing e-mail, gopher and Archie in publications.
The Internet is introduced in Part three with chapters describing the Internet's history, development, how it works and advice on choosing an Internet access provider. This section also explores new ways of delivering health care via the Internet, called telemedicine, as well as providing a guide for researchers on how to ®nd usable information.
Part four looks at the range of services which are available on the Internet such as email, mailing lists, newsgroups, Internet relay chat, telnet, Archie and gopher, as well as a detailed look at the worldwide web. If you have ever had problems with e-mail attachments then there is a very useful chapter covering e-mail, with an in-depth look at the various ways in which they are dealt with. I personally, found this section to be extremely useful.