Want to network? Try these SDS Web sites
Two new sites offer free networking, information
New networking and educational opportunities are just a computer click away with the opening of same-day surgery and laparoscopy Web sites.
SurgiNet, a Seattle-based nonprofit foundation, is sponsoring a same-day surgery Web site (http://www.surginet.org) that includes educational courses, a searchable vendor database, a job line, and an "ask the experts" Q&A. A same-day surgery discussion group also is available for managers to post questions to their colleagues. Most of the resources can be accessed free of charge.
"Our vision is to make this the definitive resource for ambulatory surgery and ambulatory anesthesia," says Jane L. Thilo, MD, an anesthesiologist and surgery center owner who is the founder and executive director of SurgiNet. "We want to be the first place people will come to if they want to find out about ambulatory surgery and anesthesia."
Thilo says the concept for SurgiNet grew out of her own experiences during 12 years in same-day surgery, many of them as owner and general manager of Westlake Surgical Center in Seattle. "Through the years, I wished I had this bit of information or that bit of information," says Thilo, who is also a surveyor for the Skokie, IL-based Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care. "All of the [SurgiNet] ideas have come out of my frustrations or things that I found useful or helpful."
Thilo also hopes to help same-day surgery managers navigate the World Wide Web, with links to many related sites. (For more information on the Internet and same-day surgery, see Same Day Surgery, May 1996, p. 49.)
SurgiNet’s Web site is nonprofit and will be funded through grants and corporate sponsorships. SurgiNet also is offering to help develop and "host" Web sites of surgery centers and associations. By hosting the Web site, SurgiNet provides a simple Internet address, such as "http://www.surginet.org/westlake," Thilo says. The other surgery centers and associations Web sites can then be accessed from this location. The price for these services will vary based on the features included. (For contact information, see box, above.)
Meanwhile, in Michigan, surgical resident Alex Gandsas, MD, has developed a site called "laparoscopy.com" that includes live chats, audio comments from experts, and video examples of actual cases. With this technology, the information link is immediate, says Gandsas. "You can share information by writing an article in a journal, or you can use multimedia [on the Internet]," he says.
Laparoscopy.com has information for physicians, nurses, and patients. But the Argentine-trained surgeon particularly hopes to spread information about laparoscopy to physicians in countries that are not as technologically advanced as the United States.
Physicians can contact each other through e-mail linked through the Web site, Gandsas says. Every Saturday from 2-3 p.m. EST, physicians can have a live discussion through an Internet Relay Chat. (Details on how to log in to the chat are provided on the http://www.laparoscopy.com Web site.) "Doctors from around the world gather in this virtual space and talk about laparoscopic surgery," he says.
Physicians also send in videos of their cases, which can be accessed through the site. In another feature, Gandsas interviews leading physicians about a question related to laparoscopic surgery. Their recorded comments are digitalized and posted on the site, which has free access.
Gandsas says a technology that is changing and growing so quickly requires more efficient methods of networking. "It’s always the same purpose [for the Web site’s features]: sharing information," says Gandsas. "Before the Internet grew, there was no way to get information so fast."
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