michigan informatics

Using Wikis to Stay Informed

An Internet technology called wiki is a collaborative form of writing that allows anyone to read and edit the content of the web site. A benefit of the wiki is the web site represents the collective knowledge of its readers who have a shared responsibility to monitor its accuracy. Since wikis can be edited by anyone, there are concerns about the authoritativeness of the information. The most popular example of a wiki is Wikipedia.

Wikis have begun to be adopted within the medical field. A group of doctors and medical students in the U.K. started GANFYD (Get A Note From Your Doctor), which is a collaborative medical reference resource. Only registered medical practitioners are allowed to edit or add new content to the wiki. This helps maintain the authority of the information. Another medical wiki that has been attracting a lot of attention is the Flu Wiki, which is a resource with content contributed by scientists and experts on the avian flu.