Wiki, Wacki, Woo!

We've all heard of Wikipedia – the world's largest web site. I'm sure almost everyone who uses the internet has read an article or two on Wikipedia, thanks to their incredible search engine ranking. Let's take a look at exactly what Wikipedia and wikis are.

From the "kettle calling the pot black" file, here is Wikipedia's definition of itself:

Wikipedia (pronounced /ˌwiːkiˈpiːdiə/ or /ˌwɪkəˈpiːdiə/) is a multilingual, Web-based, free-content encyclopedia project. The name "Wikipedia" is a portmanteau (a combination of portions of two words and their meanings) of the words wiki (a type of collaborative Web site) and encyclopedia. Wikipedia's articles provide links to guide the user to related pages with additional information. from wikipedia

We all know what an encyclopedia is, but the definition of a wiki might not be quite as familiar.

A Wiki
A wiki is a page or collection of Web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language (a set of annotation that tell text how to displayed. Example: Mircosoft WORD showing bolded text). Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites. The collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia is one of the best-known wikis. Wikis are used in business to provide intranet and Knowledge Management systems". from wikipedia.

The word "Wiki" is a Hawaiian word for "fast".

The first web site that could call itself a wiki is WikiWikiWeb, started in 1994 by Ward Cunningham. The largest and most familiar wiki is Wikipedia.

So, a wiki is easy to use (very easy to use) knowledge management and distribution system that can be completely private, semi-private or public. Are there applications for a wiki in healthcare? Absolutely – from department-level intranets to a professional-level wiki where doctors share cutting-edge research.

Wiki's and HealthCare

Here is a list of different applications of a wiki in healthcare. This is not a comprehensive list nor is it a list of the best healthcare wikis, it's just a list of some of the good ones.

AskDrWiki
"Dr Wiki is a nonprofit educational web site made by physicians for physicians, medical students, and healthcare providers. Its purpose is to serve as a online repository of medical information that can be accessed by anyone."

MedPedia
"In association with Harvard Medical School, Stanford School of Medicine, Berkeley School of Public Health, University of Michigan Medical School and other leading global health organizations, Medpedia will be a commons for the gathering of the information and people critical to health care."

Clinfowiki
"The Clinical Informatics Wiki." "The Clinical Informatics Wiki is an implementation of a wiki devoted to topics in clinical informatics.

Consumer Health Information service - Toronto Public Library
"This site, created and maintained by the Consumer Health Information Service (CHIS) of the Toronto Public Library, is designed to help you find reliable, understandable health information for you and your family. The information on this site is constantly being revised as changes or new information comes to light."

Diabetes Wiki
"A consumer-focused diabetes education site. Allows anyone to tell their story and share their knowledge."

ECG-pedia
"A wiki electrocardiography (ECG) course and textbook designed for medical professionals such as cardiac care nurses and physicians."

Journal of Medical Internet Research e-health Wiki
"This is a platform for the eHealth research community to collaboratively develop eHealth and Internet research ideas and observations into papers, proposals, research protocols, projects and programs."

FluWiki
"The purpose of the Flu Wiki is to help local communities prepare for and perhaps cope with a possible influenza pandemic. This is a task previously ceded to local, state and national governmental public health agencies."

Ganfyd
"Welcome to ganfyd.org - The free medical knowledge base that anyone can read and any registered medical practitioner may edit. "

WiserWiki
"WiserWiki is a wiki that will allow accredited physicians to comment, collaborate and update medical information online and is viewable by everyone. The site was originally seeded with content from John Noble's 'Textbook of Primary Care Medicine' (3rd Edition)"