ABSTRACT
Ethical analysis is crucial to decision making in biomedicine and health care, necessitating both rapid access to diffusely disseminated sources of information pertinent to bioethics and promotion of analysis in the field of bioethics through a resource for information analysis. We developed the Bioethics Discussion Forum, an Internet-based information analysis resource, in order to supplement the Bioethics Online Service with an interactive information medium to meet the demand for such an interactive resource. The Bioethics Discussion Forum has shown promise for information analysis, providing an arena for the review and discussion of complex bioethical information, establishing a connection nationally and internationally among individuals with high levels of expertise in bioethics, and providing a template for future interactive informatics services.
Subject(s)
Bioethics , Computer Communication Networks , Information Dissemination , Computer Communication Networks/statistics & numerical data , Information Systems , Online SystemsABSTRACT
Ethical analysis is crucial to decision making in biomedicine and health care, necessitating rapid access to diffusely disseminated sources of information pertinent to bioethics. We developed the Bioethics Online Service to provide this access and to provide a forum for discussion of bioethical issues. The service, originally designed as a local resource, was expanded to allow Internet access and now enjoys widespread extramural use. We have logged over 8,000 users from our campus, around the state, the nation, and 42 other countries. This model has shown promise in utility and ease of access, and is being used as the template for other informatics developments on our campus and beyond.
