Medscape Gastroenterology in Review
Welcome to the first in a series of monthly columns intended to keep you up-to-date on what's new at Medscape Gastroenterology. I am hopeful that this column will evolve so as to offer a venue within which to introduce commentary on particularly timely issues, as driven by the perspective of key physicians in the field. I'd like to take the opportunity afforded by this first installment to briefly refamiliarize you with the overall mission and reach of Medscape Gastroenterology, as well as the depth and breadth of some of our clinical content offerings.
Medscape Gastroenterology was launched as an independent specialty area within the overall Medscape site in January 1999. The specialty site was developed with the goal of creating a community within which the medical professional could reliably have access to the most timely and relevant information on diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and liver. Fundamental to fulfilling this goal was the use of the Internet as the medium with which to deliver this material in a convenient and expedient forum.
Indeed, use of an electronic medium has permitted Medscape Gastroenterology the unique opportunity to reach an immense breadth of audience, thereby enhancing our ability to disseminate clinically important information to those at the point of care. As part of a medium that has at times demonstrated an unfortunate lack of longevity for some of its residents, Medscape Gastroenterology has endured -- and I genuinely believe this is solely due to the unique nature of the niche we occupy and to the commitment and support of our audience. It is the collaborative nature of our relationship with you as a dedicated audience that has provided us with the chance to continue our mission of delivering thoughtfully selected, authoritative material with the greatest implications for clinical management. In this regard, Medscape Gastroenterology has filled an important professional space and provided a unique utility in healthcare education by offering this information via the most convenient, timely route possible. And, as underscored by Medscape Gastroenterology Editorial Board member Geoffrey L. Braden, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at MCP/Hahnemann School of Medicine, and Chief, Division of Internal Medicine at Frankford Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, "Medscape Gastroenterology will continue to adapt to advances in Internet technology that will make the site more readable and informative to our audience."
How does Medscape Gastroenterology strive to maintain the quality and validity of its clinical content offerings? Part of the answer to this question may be found in the panel of eminent physicians who comprise our Editorial Board and serve to guide and inform our ongoing efforts to meet the information needs of our audience. In addition, we rely on feedback from our considerable readership to help drive our development of effective products and services. To this end, Medscape Gastroenterology has developed several original content series in collaboration with physicians and institutions of international renown. It is only on Medscape Gastroenterology that you will find the monthly case-based Grand Rounds in Gastroenterology From Baylor College of Medicine series and the David Carr-Locke Endoscopy Clinic series. To view the most recent installments in each of these series, please see "Dyspnea in a Woman With Alcoholic Cirrhosis" and "Closure of a Penetrating Trauma in the Rectum With a Disposable Endoscopic Clip," respectively. Additionally, Medscape Gastroenterology brings you Hepatology Focus, with insightful discussion of topical issues in liver disease, as developed by Series Editor Paul Martin, MD. The next installment in this series will be available within a few weeks.
Perhaps among the most critical of roles that we fulfill is that of provider of information from the leading conferences in the field. It is at meetings such as Digestive Disease Week (DDW) and the annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology, among others, that the latest findings in basic and clinical science are presented. These professional meeting forums convene for the express purpose of gathering physicians of international renown under a single roof to share and discuss the most topical issues in the field. For those who cannot attend these meetings or who simply wish to access other aspects they may have failed to reach while on site, Medscape Gastroenterology serves to essentially reconvene the meeting for you -- in virtual format. Medscape Gastroenterology brings you the highlights from key meetings, as selected at the discretion of the thought leaders in the field and as summarized by those very same thought leaders. As Dr. Braden affirms, "if you are unable to personally attend one of the major national conferences, you can quickly update your knowledge by reading the Medscape Gastroenterology coverage of that particular meeting."
As part of this special initiative, please visit our recent DDW-approved coverage of the DDW 2002 meeting held this past May in San Francisco, California. We were fortunate to bring you the authoritative perspectives of such experts as Stephen Hanauer, MD, Jon I. Isenberg, MD, Emmet B. Keeffe, MD, M. Brian Fennerty, MD, and Anil K. Rustgi, MD, among others. Our coverage of DDW 2002 presents clinically focused topic reviews on a broad set of issues, including gastroesophageal reflux disease, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, hepatitis B and C, liver transplantation, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, pancreatic cancer, and endoscopic therapy for esophageal disease. As a further point of utility for our professional audience, this conference program is available for continuing medical education (CME). A directory of all activities currently available for CME, including physician-authored reviews of meeting symposia and other conference reports, may be found in the Medscape Gastroenterology CME Center. Again, our goal is to provide you with all of the tools essential to your clinical practice needs in the most convenient venue possible.
I thank you for lending me your time and allowing me to reintroduce you to our core mission and some of what I hope you'll agree are Medscape Gastroenterology's unique information assets. I look forward to next month's column and to continuing to expand and improve our site so that it works best for you. As always, your comments and feedback are welcome. You may contact me directly at gastroeditor@webmd.net. (If your concern is technical, however, please contact our customer support staff at medscapecustomersupport@webmd.net.)
Welcome to the first in a series of monthly columns intended to keep you up-to-date on what's new at Medscape Gastroenterology. I am hopeful that this column will evolve so as to offer a venue within which to introduce commentary on particularly timely issues, as driven by the perspective of key physicians in the field. I'd like to take the opportunity afforded by this first installment to briefly refamiliarize you with the overall mission and reach of Medscape Gastroenterology, as well as the depth and breadth of some of our clinical content offerings.
Medscape Gastroenterology was launched as an independent specialty area within the overall Medscape site in January 1999. The specialty site was developed with the goal of creating a community within which the medical professional could reliably have access to the most timely and relevant information on diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and liver. Fundamental to fulfilling this goal was the use of the Internet as the medium with which to deliver this material in a convenient and expedient forum.
Indeed, use of an electronic medium has permitted Medscape Gastroenterology the unique opportunity to reach an immense breadth of audience, thereby enhancing our ability to disseminate clinically important information to those at the point of care. As part of a medium that has at times demonstrated an unfortunate lack of longevity for some of its residents, Medscape Gastroenterology has endured -- and I genuinely believe this is solely due to the unique nature of the niche we occupy and to the commitment and support of our audience. It is the collaborative nature of our relationship with you as a dedicated audience that has provided us with the chance to continue our mission of delivering thoughtfully selected, authoritative material with the greatest implications for clinical management. In this regard, Medscape Gastroenterology has filled an important professional space and provided a unique utility in healthcare education by offering this information via the most convenient, timely route possible. And, as underscored by Medscape Gastroenterology Editorial Board member Geoffrey L. Braden, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at MCP/Hahnemann School of Medicine, and Chief, Division of Internal Medicine at Frankford Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, "Medscape Gastroenterology will continue to adapt to advances in Internet technology that will make the site more readable and informative to our audience."
How does Medscape Gastroenterology strive to maintain the quality and validity of its clinical content offerings? Part of the answer to this question may be found in the panel of eminent physicians who comprise our Editorial Board and serve to guide and inform our ongoing efforts to meet the information needs of our audience. In addition, we rely on feedback from our considerable readership to help drive our development of effective products and services. To this end, Medscape Gastroenterology has developed several original content series in collaboration with physicians and institutions of international renown. It is only on Medscape Gastroenterology that you will find the monthly case-based Grand Rounds in Gastroenterology From Baylor College of Medicine series and the David Carr-Locke Endoscopy Clinic series. To view the most recent installments in each of these series, please see "Dyspnea in a Woman With Alcoholic Cirrhosis" and "Closure of a Penetrating Trauma in the Rectum With a Disposable Endoscopic Clip," respectively. Additionally, Medscape Gastroenterology brings you Hepatology Focus, with insightful discussion of topical issues in liver disease, as developed by Series Editor Paul Martin, MD. The next installment in this series will be available within a few weeks.
Perhaps among the most critical of roles that we fulfill is that of provider of information from the leading conferences in the field. It is at meetings such as Digestive Disease Week (DDW) and the annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology, among others, that the latest findings in basic and clinical science are presented. These professional meeting forums convene for the express purpose of gathering physicians of international renown under a single roof to share and discuss the most topical issues in the field. For those who cannot attend these meetings or who simply wish to access other aspects they may have failed to reach while on site, Medscape Gastroenterology serves to essentially reconvene the meeting for you -- in virtual format. Medscape Gastroenterology brings you the highlights from key meetings, as selected at the discretion of the thought leaders in the field and as summarized by those very same thought leaders. As Dr. Braden affirms, "if you are unable to personally attend one of the major national conferences, you can quickly update your knowledge by reading the Medscape Gastroenterology coverage of that particular meeting."
As part of this special initiative, please visit our recent DDW-approved coverage of the DDW 2002 meeting held this past May in San Francisco, California. We were fortunate to bring you the authoritative perspectives of such experts as Stephen Hanauer, MD, Jon I. Isenberg, MD, Emmet B. Keeffe, MD, M. Brian Fennerty, MD, and Anil K. Rustgi, MD, among others. Our coverage of DDW 2002 presents clinically focused topic reviews on a broad set of issues, including gastroesophageal reflux disease, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, hepatitis B and C, liver transplantation, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, pancreatic cancer, and endoscopic therapy for esophageal disease. As a further point of utility for our professional audience, this conference program is available for continuing medical education (CME). A directory of all activities currently available for CME, including physician-authored reviews of meeting symposia and other conference reports, may be found in the Medscape Gastroenterology CME Center. Again, our goal is to provide you with all of the tools essential to your clinical practice needs in the most convenient venue possible.
I thank you for lending me your time and allowing me to reintroduce you to our core mission and some of what I hope you'll agree are Medscape Gastroenterology's unique information assets. I look forward to next month's column and to continuing to expand and improve our site so that it works best for you. As always, your comments and feedback are welcome. You may contact me directly at gastroeditor@webmd.net. (If your concern is technical, however, please contact our customer support staff at medscapecustomersupport@webmd.net.)
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