Why Provide Advanced Medical Information
Online?

Print publication in traditional peer-reviewed scientific books and journals is still viewed by most academics as the established standard for presenting new thoughts and advances to a profession. With the advent of free and instant access offered by the Internet, however, commercial medical publications with high costs and tiny closed readerships have become relatively inefficient if not an undemocratic means of sharing knowledge with the lay public in search of newer ideas.

In case you haven't noticed, the printing-on-paper industry has become one of our most backward and obsolete enterprises. While most information we use daily becomes available at the speed of light, paper publishing remains a throw-back from the Middle Ages. Typical delays between submission of an article and actual publication easily average 6-12 months.

Plus, printed articles are, by necessity, restricted in length. Photos may be sparse or appear mainly in black-and-white. Once an article has been distributed, its content can't be easily corrected. Once a few months have passed, the article becomes relegated to a crowded bookshelf where it may be nearly impossible to locate.

Nevertheless, medical journal subscriptions have grown increasingly expensive, commonly costing in the $400-800 range. Medical textbooks updated once every decade may cost well over $300-$400. Such is the nature of printing on dead tree pulp. Of course, one big objection from academia is that online publication does not require review by professional editors or other physicians, even though no two doctors ever agree on everything and new or advanced ideas are often viewed as too controversial to make the cut. Never mind that most of today's advertiser-financed medical news glossies mailed to doctors every week abandoned high standards in favor of cost-cutting long ago. Consequently, it remains imperative that a reader of any type of medical media compare opinions from a number of reputable sources, whether found on paper, electronically, or by word of mouth. Maintaining a website offering in-depth but comprehensible articles, surgical photo series, before-and-after patient galleries, and detailed video discussions is demanding of both time and thought. However, in an age when technology offers the public a valid new way of gathering general insight, the benefits of free, timely, and easy access to advanced medical ideas seem to outweigh the burdens of the centuries-old alternative.

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