The interactive patient: a multimedia interactive educational tool on the World Wide Web.

To develop a physician-friendly continuing medical education tool for use on the World Wide Web, and to improve physicians' clinical and history taking skills, developers at Marshall University designed a multimedia interactive patient encounter for a Web server. Any physician with access to the Internet can use this program to take a history, perform a physical examination, order laboratory and radiologic studies, and submit a diagnosis and treatment plan. The system evaluates the user's performance electronically and delivers CME credits by mail. The Interactive Patient has been embraced by the medical community, with many institutions providing links to this new tool and hundreds of physicians using it. The enthusiasm of most users demonstrates that combining education with fun enhances the learning experience.