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![[ FertiNet ]](fertinet.gif) |
![[ OBGYN.net Outstanding Achievement Award ]](/images/obgynaward.gif) |
We have to admit the staff at OBGYN.net had not taken a look a FertiNet for several months. That is until Dr. Hans van der Slikke submitted a recommendation that we consider them for our next Outstanding Achievement award. It did not take long for us to see what Dr. van der Slikke was talking about. Without question FertiNet has evolved into THE global resource for Assisted Fertilisation and Human Reproduction. FertiNet and their sponsor have created a truly outstanding resource for the women's health community.
The man behind this project is Han Schnek. Han responded for FertiNet to a few questions we had:
1. How are you serving the Ob/Gyn community with Internet Technology?
FertiNet is fully dedicated to the science and practice of Assisted Fertilisation and Human Reproduction. Its primary aim is to stimulate information dissemination among professional workers, researchers and patients in this field.
The world wide web is gradually evolving from a static information system into a fully interactive medium. Instead of imitating a quality medical journal, the pilot-teams (local editorial boards) stressed the importance of making FertiNet a platform where professionals can discuss recent scientific and clinical advances, annotate articles issued in core journals, debate legal, methodological, economic and ethical topics etc. To make this possible, FertiNet implemented of SID-technology (Smart Interactive Databases), which offers many new options. The main use of SID is to create more opportunities for users to add information themselves directly from their own computers.
FertiNet is divided into two main sections: a public section and an medical section.
The public section mainly addresses (potential) patients. It provides information about infertility and its treatment, patient associations, fertility centers, literature and links to other interesting web-sites. Each country in Europe has its own public section.
The medical section is for health professionals only. Users have to register first. This section contains many paragraphs, such as Congress Calendar, free MedLine access, discussion groups, Debate, congress reports, short articles by opinion leaders, educational quizzes etc.
2. Why did you get involved with the Internet?
In February 1996 a small group at the Serono Benelux office in The Hague "surfed the net" to look for information about assisted fertilisation. To their own surprise they found a lot of data, but scattered all around the huge World Wide Web. They could not find a single web-site fully dedicated to this therapeutic area. Plans were soon made to start such a web-site, but the question was raised: how to collect the information? The group then took an innovative approach, and decided to create an open system for all professional workers to exchange information.
3. How long have you been using the Internet?
Not much later, April 1996, the first version of FertiNet hit cyberspace. The first version of FertiNet looked like an empty house waiting for the decorators and furnishers to make it come alive. A group of Dutch and Belgian gynecologists and embryologists were invited to start. Although most of them did not have much internet experience, their enthusiasm and dedication resulted in a well developed and interesting site. By the end of June, at ESHRE 96 in Maastricht, FertiNet was made public for the first time. Over 500 specialists from all around the world had their first glimpse of FertiNet and response was overwhelming. Many volunteered to participate in its further development and a decision was then made to make FertiNet international. From October onward, in most European countries, pilot-teams have started to create new sections, co-ordinate contributions and stimulate colleagues to participate. The results of all this international involvement will soon transform FertiNet from a Benelux pilot project into a real world wide fertility network.
In November the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology joined FertiNet. The organisation has created a full-scale web-site in the International Medical Section of FertiNet with lots of information about the society, membership and activities including the annual meeting and Campus courses. A special editorial team has started to enhance the scientific contents of ESHRE site and the Special Interest Groups are invited to participate.
4. What has been your greatest reward in using the Internet?
FertiNet is a single sponsored (Serono) website. By making it an open platform instead of marketing promotion tool for the sponsor, FertiNet was soon accepted as an independent information source and medium to discuss medical and related issues. The overwhelming enthusiasm of the local editors (all gynecologists and biologists) in many countries and its unexpected high level of frequent users is our greatest award.
5. What is the future for the Ob/Gyn community on the Internet - what is possible?
Considering the internet part of the information technology available (though not yet fully implemented and used) to gynecologists, we expect a bright future. Its main use will be information retrieval and dissemination. As more data are made available on the Net, which address the daily practice of clinical and academic gynecologists, it can be expected to gain importance up to the level of journals and congresses. But let us be realistic. This evolution will take another few years, at least. In the mean time, the internet is used mainly for exchanging information like we used to do with the old fashioned face-to-face meetings, fax, snail mail and even telephone.
For more information, contact:
Han Schnek
FertiNet http://www.fertinet.de/german/index.jsp
