title: Professional's Information Link (PiL): a web-based asynchronous consultation service.
abstract: Despite the massive growth of on-line information resources, many clinicians still prefer to obtain information from other clinicians, particularly those to whom they refer patients. Based on this notion and an information needs assessment, we developed the Professional's Information Link (PiL), a Web-based asynchronous consultation service to facilitate question answering between rural clinicians and an academic medical center. The system aims to provide answers to questions within two working days. It also includes patient handouts and continuing medical education resources. Our preliminary evaluation demonstrates modest but enthusiastic use of the system.
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Informatics & Outcomes Research, Oregon Health and Science University, School of Medicine, Portland, OR, USA.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hersh
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Olson
authors.forename: Lynetta
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sacherek
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cross
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing; D006801:Humans; D007256:Information Systems; D020407:Internet; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009922:Oregon; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D019114:Remote Consultation; D019035:Rural Health Services; D017216:Telemedicine