Elsevier's "WiserWiki" Allows Physicians to Update Evidence-Based Medical Information with Experience-Based Practice Insights
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NEW YORK, January 29 - Elsevier's Beta Medical Wiki Invites Board-Certified Physicians to Comment, Collaborate and Update Established Medical Textbook Online.
Elsevier, the world's leading publisher of science and health information, announced today the beta launch of WiserWiki
(http://www.WiserWiki.com), a wiki that allows board-certified physicians to
collaboratively contribute and update medical information online. The site,
which is open to and viewable by the public, is seeded with content from The
Textbook of Primary Care Medicine (3rd Edition, 2001) by John Noble, M.D. The
textbook was published by Mosby, an Elsevier imprint, and was one of
Elsevier's best-selling medical textbooks.
"WiserWiki is another example of Elsevier's commitment to
develop innovative tools for medical professionals," said Scott Virkler, Vice
President, Business Development at Elsevier. "With WiserWiki we're providing
a trusted forum for physicians to collaborate and contribute
professional-level medical content that's viewable by members of the public."
No longer in print, the textbook seeding WiserWiki contains
in-depth information on a full-range of medical problems, conditions and
diseases encountered in the practices of family physicians, general
internists, medical and surgical subspecialists, nurse practitioners, and
physician assistants.
WiserWiki hopes to maintain a high level of relevancy and
trustworthiness by ensuring that editorial privileges remain restricted to
medical professionals.
"As the use of online communities and the Internet has
increased the possibilities for and benefits of sharing medical information
and best practices with other patients and physicians have grown enormously,"
noted Dr. Noble. "WiserWiki provides exposure for physicians who wish to
publish relevant, up-to-date and insightful medical content based on personal
experience and expertise."
Using WiserWiki
WiserWiki is free to users, and contributors retain the
copyright to information they contribute to the site, subject to usage rights
provided to other users on the site. In order to encourage open collaboration
and the exchange of information, WiserWiki uses an "attribution share-alike"
license that allows contributors to build upon other authors' works as long
as they credit and license derivative works under the identical terms of its
license.
Editorial privileges are restricted to board-certified
professionals to ensure that information is as accurate and trustworthy as
possible. Doctors who are not board certified in the U.S. can edit WiserWiki.
However, Elsevier may contact them with a request for additional information
to validate their status as physicians. While members of the public may
access information on the site, they are informed that WiserWiki is intended
primarily as an informational site for medical professionals.
"There's a lot we can test and learn from WiserWiki," said
Virkler. "A majority of healthcare wikis aren't fully trusted by users, and
attempts to create new wiki communities are hindered by the inability to
create a critical mass of information. We're in the best position to provide
a medical wiki due to our expertise in the medical content, as well as our
know-how in creating valuable tools for physicians."
About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical
and medical information products and services. Working in partnership with
the global science and health communities, Elsevier's 7,000 employees in over
70 offices worldwide publish more than 2,000 journals and 1,900 new books per
year, in addition to offering a suite of innovative electronic products, such
as Science Direct. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/), MDConsult
(http://mdconsult.com/), Scopus (http://info.scopus.com/),
bibliographic databases, and online reference works.
Elsevier (http://www.elsevier.com/) is a global business
headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and has offices worldwide.
Elsevier is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc (http://www.reedelsevier.com/), a
world-leading publisher and information provider. Operating in the science
and medical, legal, education and business-to-business sectors, Reed Elsevier
provides high-quality and flexible information solutions to users, with
increasing emphasis on the Internet as a means of delivery. Reed Elsevier's
ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK
and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).
Tom Reller
Director, Corporate Relations
T.Reller@elsevier.com
+1-212-462-1912
Source: Elsevier
