By Polly Raymond, 30 September 1998 17:28
NEWS An enterprising group of doctors from Oxfordshire have launched a dedicated Web service which provides UK practitioners with free email and research facilities. Leading the Doctors Net UK project is Dr Neil Bacon who said online tools are fast becoming central to everyday medicine. "In five years time it will be impossible to practice medicine without being on the Net," he said. IBM was contracted to build and host the site. CIX and UUNet were also considered, but Bacon favoured IBM's Lotus Notes and Domino-based environment. Funding came from two local businessmen who are motivated by their "belief in the NHS" rather than profit, said Bacon. The site has been endorsed by the Department of Health and every UK medical college. Doctors will be offered cheap Internet access to draw them into the site. Bacon hopes eventually to make access free through a partnership with an anonymous UK telco. Bacon expects to launch the free connection service alongside the current research and email service by November. IBM's involvement is indicative of a trend in new media that sees big name equipment vendors getting involved in content provision. Bacon says this drove part of his decision to get IBM on board: "IBM needs to be in on this bandwagon which is why we approached it to get a good service." Bacon expects the site to work alongside what he calls the "mythical NHSNet". "When it finally happens, we expect to complement the NHSNet and we're currently talking closely to its creators," he said. More information can be found at www.doctors.net.uk.
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