On-line resources for pediatricians.

BACKGROUND

Medical information is increasingly available on computer networks.

OBJECTIVES

To familiarize the pediatrician with some of the terms associated with these on-line resources, and to describe what is available via the Internet and dial-up computer bulletin boards.

DATA SOURCES

Information for this article was taken from publicly available on-line services and Internet servers.

DATA EXTRACTION

Only resources relevant to pediatric practice were included.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Medical information on the Internet is in a state of evolution. Useful resources for pediatricians are sparse but expanding rapidly.

CONCLUSIONS

Pediatricians may use on-line computer networks to communicate. Familiarity with computer networks will become more important to pediatricians as electronic medical records, on-line medical literature, and telemedicine (the practice of medicine over long distances) become more common. Medical libraries and commercial on-line services are good places to begin to investigate the availability of medical information over computer networks.