Proposal of Program for Easier Access of Family Medicine Information through PC Communication

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: It is expected that the demand for the information about the primary medical service in the forthcoming supersede age of communication will be on the increase. For that reason, family doctors who are in charge of the primary medical service have to play an important part in constructing a data-base for furnishing the medical information. This article presents a model which includes the roles of family doctors, constructing medical-related information site of family medicine in the communications net with PC to gat,her fundamental data in operating the system of medical information and elucidating the formation of medical-related information site and the effect of operating that system. METHODS: Since Aug. 20 in 1996, the site of family medicine, the program of medical information, has been set up in Unitel. The medical information of the site of family medicine is to be classified into two parts for doctors and for the public. The former is composed of medicine documents, several kinds of medical data, a linkage with medicine site in Internet, movements of an academic society and information exchanges for friendship. The latter is mainly made up of some practical medical sense and medical counsel. RESULTS: From the opening the medical information site to Jul. 30 in 1997, 250 persons a day have connected with medical information site and this fact implied 15 hours connection a day in terms of the daily mean. The cases of health counsel averaged 6 cases connection a day and the annual statistics of those cases were about, 1980 cases. The major content of health counsel was related to common symptoms that could be settled in primary medical problem. According to the survey for connectors, most of connectors answered that the medical information through communications net was much more effective t.han that from other media in the educational aspects and very helpful in the prevention of diseases and in the medical expenditure. Above all, the medical information through communications net was very effective in correcting the mistaken practical medical sense. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary for family doctors to give thought to the connection of both information communication and medicine and to have correct understanding of medical domain in the cyberspace. On the foundation of these necessities, all the family doctors have to make the best of their way to construct a database with rnedical data and to transfer these data into the computer sites.