Presented at the 1998 APIII Conference Return to 1998 Abstract Index
LAB WEB
http://pathology.uvm.edu
University of Vermont
College of Medicine
Department of Pathology
Fletcher Allen Health Care
Burlington, Vermont
J. Mark Tuthill, MD
In the summer of 1996, the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Fletcher Allen Health Care began efforts to create an integrated Internet Web site reflecting the mission of the Department and all of its varied components. This was and continues to be a daunting task for an academic pathology department with a diverse profile.
The initial phase of the Web site development was directed at the "public face" the department projected to the World Wide Web, and materials were generated to provide public information. Initially, these included personal professional web pages for our attending staff, departmental listings, customer service information, and contact information, etc. Further, as the department supports a variety of training programs, research activities, and "core centers of excellence", materials were generated to detail their varying missions, resources and opportunities.
Currently, in its second phase of development, site maintenance protocols and devoted support staff have been allocated. The focus is now on customer driven Intranet and extranet/internet applications that will increase the site's utility as an information retrieval tool. Current examples include dynamically updated test information, public and private contact numbers, on line supply request forms, and the ability to easily upload images to our ftp server for consultation.
Future
applications envisioned include order entry, result retrieval,
application of push technology, connections to on line knowledge
bases, telemedicine applications, and decision support algorithms.
Ultimately, the Web site is viewed as the future interface
for retrieval of integrated department information and communications.
