 |
 |
Medical Info Web Sites Trying To Extend Reach AS THE INTERNET PLAYS AN INCREASINGLY SIGNIFICANT ROLE in providing health care information, Web sites are trying to reach to as many as possible. I received mail recently from ( http://www.drgreene.com) Dr. Allen Greene, a pediatrician who has a Web site that bills itself as Dr. Greene's House Calls. And, indeed, you can visit his site and get lots of free advice about common childhood diseases. He has a search engine and an informative Q&A section. Dr. Greene answers questions e-mailed to him in the Q&A on his site. He also conducts weekly live chats on iVillage's (http://www.parentsoup.com/) Parent Soup Web site and, according to site spokesperson Cheryl Greene, "does indeed make actual house calls as a real live doctor!." But you probably shouldn't expect him to rush over to your home after receiving an e-mail. Cheryl Greene, who is also the doctor's wife, said "We selected the name HouseCalls for our site, because Dr. Greene addresses parents concerns so fully that it is as if he is coming right into their homes...The live chats on Parent Soup are a very real housecall..." Whether that is actually the case or not, such Web sites are trying to provide health news and information to Web users in hopes of extending the reach of health care. Another Web site, (http://www.hoteldocs.com/) HotelDocs, claims to offer a directory of doctors for people who are staying in a hotel away from home. The idea is you can call a doctor to your hotel room by calling an 800 number, but since only a little over 450 people have visited since September 1997, I wonder how well this is working. Dr. Greene also belongs to an interesting Swiss-based group called (http://www.hon.ch/) Health on the Net Foundation, which was established in 1995 as a non-profit foundation trying to foster health-care education over the Internet. "Dr. Greene always refers parents back to their own doctor for physical exams, testing, diagnosis, and follow-up," Cheryl Greene said. The Q & A (http://www.drgreene.com/topic_chron.html) feature on Greene's site is archived so you can review past questions and answers. --------------- _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ John S. Walker _/ _/ Publisher, CSS Internet News (tm) _/ _/ (Internet Training and Research) _/ _/ PO Box 57247, Jackson Stn., _/ _/ Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8P 4X1 _/ _/ Email [log in to unmask] _/ _/ http://www.networx.on.ca/~jwalker _/ _/ _/ _/ "To Teach is to touch a life forever" _/ _/ On the Web one touch can reach so far! _/ _/ _/ _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/