WEB TECHNOLOGY FOR EMERGENCY-MEDICINE AND SECURE TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRONIC PATIENT RECORDS

The American Heritage dictionary defines the word ''web'' as ''somethi ng intricately contrived, especially something that ensnares or entang les.'' The wealth of medical resources ion the World Wide Web is note so extensive, yet disorganized and unmonitored, that such a definition seems fitting. In emergency medicine, for example, a field in which a ccurate and complete information, including patients' records, is urge ntly needed, more than 5000 Web pages are available today, whereas few er than 50 were available in December 1994. Most sites are static Web pages using the Internet to publish textbook material, but new technol ogy is extending the scope of the Internet to include online medical e ducation and secure exchange of clinical information. This article lis ts some of the best Web sites for use in emergency medicine and then d escribes a project in which the Web is used for transmission and prote ction of electronic records.