Gerald D. Klee, M.D., Editor
[Fall 1998; Vol.25 No. 2]
Readers will notice that this issue of The Maryland Psychiatrist, (TMP) has a new look. Thanks to Carol Watkins MD and Glenn Brynes MD we have begun producing TMP by means of desktop publishing. Drs. Watkins and Brynes have made this possible by volunteering their time and equipment for this purpose. This fulfills a long cherished goal of the editors and will eliminate many steps in production thus saving time and expense.
The technology for desktop publishing is relatively new and is rapidly advancing. It is but another example of the many changes being wrought by information technology. During the past year we have been promoting the subject of information technology with the object of encouraging MPS members to recognize its’ importance to the future of psychiatry. In this issue we continue to discuss this subject as we describe examples of how some MPS members have developed their own web sites to promote their views, their practices, or their information technology business venture. Our purpose in doing this is to encourage other MPS members to consider the possible advantages of having their own web sites.
The editors share the common belief that modern information technology is a mixed blessing. Those of us who remember when the milkman came every morning by horse and wagon and when their families got their first radios, experience both nostalgia and future shock. The rapid changes taking place in the world cause much dislocation and create new risks. One of the risks we must vigorously guard against is the loss of privacy and patient confidentiality. Such things as computerized data banks and the Internet can greatly increase efficiency, but are vulnerable to abuse, especially in these areas. Psychiatrists cannot combat this by turning to the past. The world is changing fast. We must deal with this by mastering new technologies, rather than allowing others to use them to manipulate our patients and us. Psychiatrists must continue to make every effort to protect the confidentiality and the quality of the patient-physician relationship.
Web sites can be used to ethically enhance patient education and develop one’s practice. One must be careful. In an interview reported in this issue, “Setting Up Your Own Web Site” Dr. Watkins is asked, ”Do you offer diagnostic or treatment services on line?” And she replies. “No, we steer away from that. In addition to medicolegal issues, we would be concerned about quality of service.” We regard this as an appropriate expression of caution.
As psychiatry moves forward, is it necessary to abandon the experience and wisdom of the past? We think not, despite the push in that direction in some quarters. In this issue Walter Weintraub MD discusses “Teaching Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy”. Dr. Weintraub provides an updated perspective of a well-known form of treatment. Rather than a theory and method set in stone, Dr. Weintraub describes psychoanalytic psychotherapy as a flexible system of treatment that incorporates new scientific methods as they develop.
We are reminded daily that the millennium is just around the corner. Are you ready?