title: Medical education in cyberspace: critical considerations in the health system.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Over the past few decades, two revolutionary approaches have emerged as a new form of medical education: Electronic Medical Education and Web-based Medical Education. A number of well-known medical institutions, such as Harvard and Johns Hopkins used a wide range of cyberspace capabilities to increase their competitiveness. Researchers have expressed that cyberspace will change health system's main objective of training physicians and medical education. We conducted this study to identify the health system critical considerations on core issues, involving the development of medical education on cyberspace.
  
  
  METHODS
  In order to conduct this study, we observed the steps of a critical literature review, combined with the 'Four-phase method' adopted by Carnwell and Daly. We focused on particular literature on health and cyber system functions; it was associated with systemic approach.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We developed a six-level taxonomy, Cyber level, Governance level, Ministerial level, Organizational level, Program level and Performance level, as a key solution that can be applied for the success of medical education on cyberspace. The results were summarized and appraised in more details.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Medical education on cyberspace is a complex interdisciplinary system. It is important that all aspects of the health systems be involved as integral to the development of cyber based medical education; without this convergence, we will be confused by the decisions made by others within the system. Health system should also communicate with those external sectors that are critical to achieving better learning on cyberspace. Integrated planning, governance and management of medical education in cyberspace are pivotal elements for the promotion.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medical Education, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shahram
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yazdani
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medical Education, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Zohreh
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Khoshgoftar
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medical Education, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Soleiman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahmady
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Technology, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rastegarpour
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Neuroscience Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Abbas
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Foroutan
keywords:  Educational technology ;  Health information technology ;  Health system; Medical education 