Carol E. Watkins, MD
[Fall 1998; Vol.25 No. 2]
An increasing number of physicians are building web sites. Some make their own and others enlist the help of a design company. Several of our MPS members have built their own sites and others are in planning to do so. Different members have different reasons for building a site. Some of the reasons a member might want to build a site include promotion of a product, advocating for a specific health care issue, recruiting subjects for a research protocol, and increasing patient referrals. Although it is common to hire a web designer to create one’s site, these psychiatrists have done their own work. As this article was on its way to press, the American Psychiatric Association announced that it will provide assistance to members who wish to publish newsletters or web sites. (Phone 610-668-1525)
Marcio Pinheiro, MD, a general psychiatrist in private practice, has developed an issue-advocacy site, “Fighting Managed Care.” He says that he was motivated to protest what managed care is doing to our profession and to our patients. The site includes descriptive accounts of specific managed care problems, and shows how these impact on both patients and psychiatrists. Examples like this show how these developments affect real human beings on a daily basis. The site includes selected links to health care advocacy organizations. He discusses his views on various proposed health care alternatives. Dr. Pinheiro says that he is not a computer person and initially knew nothing about setting up a web site. He learned as he went along. He says that he got 600 hits (visitors) to his site in a recent month. Dr. Pinheiro has enjoyed doing it but says that it takes a lot of time and energy. Dr. Pinheiro presented his views about managed care and the US health care system at the APA meeting in Toronto last May. The text of his remarks can be found on his web site http://www.netcom.com/~mvp1/soloproviders1.htm
Allen Tien, MD, on staff in the JHH Department of Psychiatry, is also president and research director of MD Logic, a software design and marketing company. He developed a site promoting his company and its medical/mental health software products. The site describes the products and the structure of the company. Also included are opportunities for beta testing (testing an unfinished software product) and for investment in the company. As he is in the process of designing practical software for psychiatric practices, he is interested in feedback on how these products might meet the needs of individuals in private practice. http://www.medicinerules.com
The Maryland Psychiatric Society has one of the better web sites of the APA district branches. Several members have worked on the content, but we must give a great deal of credit to the webmaster, David Gotlib, MD. Dr. Gotlib is a child psychiatry fellow at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He had previous computing experience prior to his residency. He is responsible for the graphic design and the layout of the site. He is the one who actually puts the material on the web and checks to make sure that all of the site’s components are properly linked. This is quite a task for someone who is also a full-time resident and a father. He deserves everyone's thanks. http://www.mdpsych.org/~mdpsych/
Dr. Watkins is on the editorial board of The Maryland Psychiatrist, co-chair of the MPS Computer Committee, and co-chair of the Baltimore Medical Society Women’s Committee.