Wikis

Most of what I am writing applies across the board to information science and librarianship. The concept of wiki is another tool to disseminate and share new information. The term “wiki” was invented by Ward Cunningham in 1994. it is Hawaiian for quick or super fast. In this fast paced world of medicine, it is an appropriate tool for dissemination that is built on Web 2.0. Information can be shared and exchanged without coding languages. Pages can be created and tracked on a back end database (Barsky & Giustini, 2007).

Characteristics associated with wikis are: sharing original content and link to existing information to expand knowledge development, focuses on the combined effort among users rather than an individual author, open access for anyone to edit (for health wikis, one should have to register – this is important since incorrect information may potentially harm an individual if advise is not given by a health professional), simple to use in creating and editing pages, and the wiki is dynamic rather than static in providing information as in a textbook or journal article. Although the wiki is extremely helpful in disseminating new information for health professionals, it can be helpful to the general public as well with their increasing demands for information on health care. Barsky and Giustini (2007) described the wiki as an evidence-based collaboration tool.

References
Barsky, E., & Giustini, D. (2007). Introducing Web 2.0: Wikis for health librarians. JCHLA/JABSC, 28, 147-150.

Wikis in Health Care–

The Joint Commission – accrediting agency for health care organizations, formerly known as JCAHO - http://wikihealthcare.jointcommission.org/twiki/bin/view/Home/WebHome

Health Impact Assessment Community Wiki - http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/health_impact_assessment_hia_community_wiki/

University of Buffalo Health Science Library Wiki – extensive list of wikis - http://libweb.lib.buffalo.edu/dokuwiki/hslwiki/doku.php

Ask Dr. Wiki - http://askdrwiki.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Physician_Medical_Wiki

Nursing Wiki - http://en.nursingwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page

PubDrug - http://smbrower.com/mediawiki/index.php/Main_Page