PLink, plastic surgery and the Internet | JoVE Visualize

PLink, plastic surgery and the Internet

R I van Heijningen¹, G H Mannaerts, P N Blondeel

¹Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Academic Hospital Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

British Journal of Plastic Surgery|July 11, 1998

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

The Internet provides valuable medical information for patients and physicians, but quality varies. Certified guidelines create trusted online "safe houses" for reliable medical content, like the PLink plastic surgery resource.

Area of Science:

Medical Informatics
Digital Health
Online Medical Resources

Background:

The Internet facilitates rapid information exchange, offering physicians enhanced patient care and research opportunities.
Patients increasingly access medical information online, but content quality is highly variable.
Recognized medical guidelines are crucial for establishing trustworthy online health information sources.

Purpose of the Study:

To address the variable quality of online medical information by creating a trusted resource.
To establish a "safe house" for plastic surgery information on the Internet.
To improve communication and provide original content for patients and physicians.

Main Methods:

Developed "PLink" (Plastic Surgery link), a "safe house" for plastic surgery topics.
Curated a well-organized list of existing plastic surgery Internet resources.
Ensured all content is reviewed by medical professionals.

Main Results:

PLink experienced over 1.3 million accesses in 17 months (July 1996 - March 1997).
Website visit rates increased significantly from 1470 to 4200 monthly visits.
The data indicates a growing demand for high-quality plastic surgery information online.

Conclusions:

The "safe house principle" effectively creates trusted online environments for medical information.
"PLink" demonstrates a successful model for providing reliable plastic surgery resources.
There is a significant and increasing need for curated, high-quality online medical content.