The Internet as Practice Extender

In the early 1960s, the Internet was born out of the idea of a "Galactic Network." By the late 1980s, technology had advanced to allow for computer-based exchange of scientific information between academic and research institutes. From these humble beginnings, the Internet has experienced explosive growth in the last five years, evolving into a powerful global information resource and new media format unto itself. Psychiatrists can now reap the full benefit of this fast-paced evolution to extend the reach of their medical practice.

At first, the only psychiatric resources on the Internet were searchable libraries and a few journal abstracts. Today, however, a new generation of medical Internet sites has emerged that delivers high-quality content directly to psychiatrists. These sites are easy to find and navigate, and they can be used to obtain practice updates, the most current journal summaries and even continuing medical education credits.

Consumers have already taken the lead over their physicians regarding medical information on the Internet. These computer-savvy individuals are using the Internet to enhance their understanding of diseases, medications and treatments. The Internet also provides patients with the opportunity to chat about their conditions or treatments and to access patient support groups online. Now it's time for their physicians to catch up.

Let's Go Surfing Now

To get on the Internet you will first need a personal computer with a modem. You can then "dial-up" an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and log onto a personal account. The cost of both computers and Internet access has come down considerably over the last year. The most popular companies like Gateway, Micron and Dell offer personal computers for under $1,000. Some offers even include one year of free Internet access with the computer purchase.

Computers usually come with either Microsoft's Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator installed. These programs are "browsers" for "surfing" the Internet using the World Wide Web. Programs for sending and receiving e-mail and accessing user groups are also available. Nationally available ISPs provide access to all Internet services including the Web, e-mail and user groups.

Internet 101

The World Wide Web, also referred to as the Web, is the largest and most powerful space on the Internet. It is an international network of untold millions of computers woven together with a common language called HTML, or Hypertext Markup Language. Hypertext is a multimedia file format through which phrases or images link to other files for more information. Click on these highlighted "links" in your browser and away you go to other documents, images, audio files or even real-time video.

Web addresses (annotated www for World Wide Web), also known as URLs (Uniform Resource Locators), enable Internet users to access sites on the World Wide Web. E-mail, Usenet and Internet Relay Chat (IRC) are other powerful Internet resources beyond the Web. To keep things logical, e-mail addresses and URLs were set up to end with suffixes known as top level domains. These include .edu for educational institutions, .org for organizations, .gov for government addresses and .com for commercial enterprises among others. E-mail has been referred to as "telegraphy for the masses," enabling instant electronic messaging anywhere in the world. Usenet is a massive collection of bulletin boards organized into user groups based on interests. IRC allows for real-time talking or "chatting" on the Internet. This is often used by colleagues to share information or by patients for support.

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