Health Sciences Online: Eight+ Revolutions and Ten+ Brief Analyses

Objective: There are many outstanding computer-based resources for medical education, but good materials are difficult to find in the flood of mediocre and questionably-sourced resources, and many good materials are currently passwordprotected. This article introduces a potential solution to many of these problems: Health Sciences Online (www.hso.info). Method: A qualitative description of a new learning tool, and the societal changes it could precipitate. Results: HSO is the only health sciences website with comprehensive, free, high-quality, ad-free, and current courses, references, and other resources. HSO already includes >50,000 such resources, but it is not just a huge, screened online library. We outline eight potential revolutionary areas for HSO: health sciences education, disease surveillance, public health ethics, integrity, needs assessments, telemedicine, local professional opportunities, and funding. HSO also responds to the World Health Organization's March 2008 "10 Facts on Health Workforce Crisis," and we briefly analyze these facts and HSO's responses in our concluding analysis section. Conclusion: HSO has the potential to revolutionize health sciences knowledge, as well as multiple other areas in medicine, public health, and other health professions.