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by Kate Mayer
Five new Medical Information Centers (MICs) opening in Central America June 4-10, 2010, will link to a newly refined, online resource that provides a wealth of medical information for doctors in developing countries. In addition to supplying the computers and other necessary equipment, WiRED will launch a new information and training tool from the International Telemedicine Network (ITN) education portal. Through the ITN, the Centers will offer training resources and special information tools to local medical professionals.
WiRED is designing access pages for doctors in each country it serves. Doctors will be able to visit these special pages for news of interest to the medical community in that country. Also, they'll be able to join discussion groups among other doctors about topics relevant to their community. These country pages will enable doctors to access global medical information and find important resources that directly address local needs and interests.
The Centers represent a collaborative effort: WiRED provides the computers and database for the new MICs, local hospitals provide the space and Internet connections. Local rotary clubs will coordinate activities with recipient hospitals and help with the logistics necessary to set up the MICs.
The ITN provides the information resources and customized country pages to meet local needs. Over the past year, the ITN has tested and redesigned its presentation styles to feature what doctors considered the most successful approaches. New features and material will be rolled out over the next few months.
The Centers will be opening in Pantasma, Jalapa, and Somoto, Nicaragua; El Paraiso, Honduras; and Santa Cruz, El Salvador.
Physicians from outlying areas will be able to download medical information onto laptops for use outside the centers. The five new centers bring the total number of MICs to 13 in Central America. There are currently four centers in Nicaragua, three in Honduras, and one in El Salvador.
Donations Fund Five Central American MICs
Donations from people who generously support medical information work—including board members and volunteers, together with local rotary clubs—helped WiRED create these five new MICs in Central America. The MICs will boost the accessibility of essential, up-to-date medical information in the area and help strengthen communication in the medical community.
Nicaragua and Honduras are in the World Health Organization’s Band 1 list of countries—where the average per capita income is less than $1,200. El Salvador is a Band 2 country—where income is less than $3,500 per year. WiRED focuses its efforts on countries that are among the poorest of the poor, where modest assistance to medical communities goes a long way to improve healthcare and prevention.
Editing by Allison Kozicharow, layout by Brian Colombe.
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