Cruising the Information Highway: Online Services and Electronic Mail for Physicians and Families John G
Technology Review Cruising the Information Highway: Online Services and Electronic Mail for Physicians and Families John G. Faughnan, MD; David J. Doukas, MD; Mark H. Ebell, MD; and Gary N. Fox, MD Minneapolis, Minnesota; Ann Arbor and Detroit, Michigan; and Toledo, Ohio Commercial online service providers, bulletin board ser indirectly through America Online or directly through vices, and the Internet make up the rapidly expanding specialized access providers. Today’s online services are “information highway.” Physicians and their families destined to evolve into a National Information Infra can use these services for professional and personal com structure that will change the way we work and play. munication, for recreation and commerce, and to obtain Key words. Computers; education; information services; reference information and computer software. Com m er communication; online systems; Internet. cial providers include America Online, CompuServe, GEnie, and MCIMail. Internet access can be obtained ( JFam Pract 1994; 39:365-371) During past year, there has been a deluge of articles information), computer-based communications, and en about the “information highway.” Although they have tertainment. Visionaries imagine this collection becoming included a great deal of exaggeration, there are some the marketplace and the workplace of the nation. In this services of real interest to physicians and their families. article we focus on the latter interpretation of the infor This paper, which is based on the personal experience mation highway. of clinicians who have played and worked with com There are practical medical and nonmedical reasons puter communications for the past several years, pre to explore the online world. America Online (AOL) is one sents the services of current interest, indicates where of the services described in detail.
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