- Doctors.net.uk
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Doctors.net.uk is an online network for doctors in the UK and one of the first of any networking sites to be introduced on the web.
Founded by Dr. Neil Bacon [1] in 1998, the site offers a number of Web 2.0 features which allows doctors to communicate online – including email, an interactive forum, online training, e-learning, medical podcasts and access to an online medical textbook and medical image library [2].
Access is only granted to UK registered doctors and medical students, and it claims to have a membership of more than 160,000 doctors – more than 95% of all UK doctors.
More than 30,000 UK doctors log onto the site every day using its email, forums and professional development services.
The company is funded by allowing communication from private companies (such as pharmaceutical companies) and government bodies (such as the NHS and Department of Health) to its members.
On the commercial side, it provides communication campaigns for pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, the Department of Health and other public sector organisations and medical colleges, providing them with effective access to doctors for marketing, education, training and market research.
The company, based in Milton Park, Oxfordshire, remains an independent company with approximately 70 staff.
News
In August 2008, a row over doctors' freedom of speech was erupted after a trainee doctor was suspended for making offensive comments about a senior medical figure on the Doctors.net.uk forum. The comments, allegedly about the re-election of Dame Carol Black as the chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges – were made by a trainee in general surgery who was subsequently suspended from the Highland Deanery. Doctors.net.uk removed the offensive part of the posting as soon as it was alerted to it.[3]
Awards
In November 2008, Doctors.net.uk received a prestigious e-Learning Award for its work for the Department of Health (DH). The award, 'Best e-learning project securing widespread adoption' was a tribute to the work carried out by Doctors.net.uk in trying to reduce healthcare associated infections (HCAI) such as MRSA and C Difficile in UK hospitals.[4]
In September 2008, Doctors.net.uk was included in the prestigious Sunday Times Tech Track 100 [5], a list of Britain’s fastest growing private technology companies – ranked 87th based upon steady sales growth of 42% per year during the past three years.
In 2007, it won the award for the Best Small Business IT Strategy at the Computing (magazine) Awards for Excellence [6], one of the most prestigious IT awards in the UK. Cliff merchant MD Official Homepage
[1] Financial Times - Medicine may be one of Wap technology's 'killer' applications
References
Categories:- Medical websites
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