The internet is currently undergoing a radical change that does not involve Web 2.0, RSS, OPML files, or atom. Confused yet? Actually, it’s a rather simple concept currently being executed in a variety of ways, primarily customized content delivered to you when and how you want it. This trend bodes well for EBP because you will soon be able to access “push” and “pull” evidence sources at the same time!
I realize that the readers of this blog are for the most part early adopters of technology. Some of us are ridiculously infected with it! Let me explain customized content delivery and how you can prepare for it now and down the road.
Through the use of such technologies as RSS and atom, you have the ability to read “real time” updates and content thru browsers (e.g Firefox and the soon to be released IE7), readers/aggregators (e.g feedDemon-my personal favorite), or the web itself (e.g. newsgator and your personal yahoo/MSN/AOL page-newsgator is my favorite and allows cross synchronization with an outlook version and their FeedDemon product). These readers allow you to customize content and how its is delivered. The market for increasing customization will flourish. Most of the time when you want specific content, you search a particular database, web page, or search engine. With evolving technology, you will actually use search engines far less than you do currently (much to the dismay of Google). Rather, you will simply adjust your browser’s settings to automatically received content to your specifications. This trend is about to go haywire with the release of IE7, with its expected release to almost 450 million individuals in the first 24 months and features that offer an easy-to-use method of subscribing to a website’s content via RSS and atom feeds. Since IE7 is so ubiquitous, it will help fuel the customized content trend. You can already subscribe to feeds now if you use the Firefox browser from Mozilla.
What does all of this have to do with EBP? At some point in the not too distant future, you will be able to access information so quickly that your “push” and “pull” information sources will be categorized seamlessly in real time. In fact, the distinction between “push” and “pull” will diminish substantially, if not go away altogether. There will no longer be any need to search multiple databases, emails, or websites. You will be able to access via pda’s, PC’s, and potentially other devices as well. The ability to practice according to best evidence in real-time will soon be ubiquitous. Excuses for not doing so will not be acceptable to your patients or payers. Learning to be a good “scanner” of information will be critical-a skill that will be honed much earlier in our education process for new PT’s.
In a less cumbersome but very effective way, we are doing this with our email subscriptions. We currently have two general types of subscriptions. The first one is just the posts from the blog that are sent daily in one email which allows our readers a email access to the blog without having to go to our website. The second subscription allows you to choose journals, topics, and research inquiries. When these things hit the newswire, it is aggregated and put in a daily email to you. Depending on the number of journals and databases that you have chosen, the email can be quite large. This excellent technology is a great “push” method for keeping up to date. We will be offering a premium subscription shortly that offers an improved and scaled version that will be particularly powerful and time efficient. We have been beta testing this with physicians as well thru an orthopedic/sports medicine version and a family practice/internal medicine version that allows your practice the ability to brand a daily “Evidence Express” newsletter in your marketing efforts. We have spent substantial time and resources coming up with this level of customization to our industry and other specialties.
Stay tuned for more details as new products and services are released! Our best days as the evidence-based practitioner of choice for the management of musculoskeletal conditions remain ahead!
Thoughts?
Larry
