Surgery and the information age

Surgeons' basic competency relies upon their ability to combine their exist ing knowledge and practical skills in the care of their patients, and also upon keeping up to date and encompassing change. We now live in a society w hich has become accustomed to receive a constant flow of up-to-date informa tion about the world around it. With recent developments, including the Int ernet, the World Wide Web, and advances in personal computer systems, the p ace of change of information technology (IT) has been increasing, These cha nges have had a significant impact upon surgery, and it is now becoming nec essary to be able to make use of these new resources to function effectivel y in modern practice. This article will outline some of the more important topics relating to IT in surgical practice as an introduction to a series o n this subject which will be appearing in forthcoming issues of the Journal .