J.W. Allen: The Internet for Surgeons

Excerpt

As its title suggests, this book introduces surgeons to the Internet. It covers the basics of the Internet, and introduces the reader to the World Wide Web, browsers, e-mail and file transfer protocols. It assumes only a basic or rudimentary knowledge of computers, and builds a foundation for the surgeon to start from. The book covers the history of the Internet and answers the question "what can the Internet do for me"? A step by step approach to logging on to the Internet and accessing applications to obtain information pertinent to the practising surgeon is described. Significant portions of the book are dedicated to exercises in continuing education, web page resources for various surgical specialties, and advanced medical information searches. This book is divided into 14 chapters, beginning with a basic introduction to computers and their general application. Chapters 2–5 cover hardware issues and information valuable in familiarizing a surgeon with the various options available today in computer systems. Chapters 6 and 7 are the most valuable chapters in dealing with basic and advanced medical information searches. These sections cover the accessing of various search engines, internet surfing and telemedicine portals, with valuable tips on improving the speed and accuracy of a particular search. The next two chapters, 8 and 9, cover e-mail and chat lines. The author describes the advantages to surgeons in time management, case reporting, internet consultation and obtaining expert opinions on complicated cases. Continuing medical education is addressed in chapter 10 while the remaining chapters are devoted to web page resources for specialty societies, health organizations and day to day news items. A helpful appendix is added at the end of the book listing the various internet addresses of prominent departments of surgery. …