Logging On For a Diagnosis

There are two camps when it comes to Wikipedia – those who think it’s one of the great new tools of the information age; and those who cite the website as another example of our culture’s sliding standards and carelessness with facts.

After all, it’s an encyclopedia written and edited by the masses. But Wikipedia has become a powerhouse online. A search for anything, from “this day in history” to “Captain Beefheart” nets a wiki entry near the top of your results page, which is fine for quick and basic information - but the bar is raised when you’re talking about life-threatening diseases.

Entrepreneur James Currier will soon launch a new website called Medpedia that offers medical information in a Wikipedia-style format. But unlike Wikipedia, only doctors, physicians, and public health officials will be able to post information to the site. Currier joins Word of Mouth to tell us how Medpedia works, and how it differs from other medical websites.

(Photo by Jay Reed)