What’s in the web for family physicians – Ophthalmology update

Alfred KY Tang 鄧權恩

National Eye Intitute (NEI)
http://www.nei.nih.gov/

NEI, of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, is established to co-ordinate research, training and health education of various eye diseases. The website is very resourceful in eye disease conditions. A series of Youtube educational videocasts, Photo, Images, and Video on various eye problems are available for sharing with patients. Through their NEHEP program, (http://nei.nih.gov/nehep/programs/index.asp), training materials for health workers, including recorded seminars online are available. A medical symposium "Translational Research and Vision", recorded in June 2010, is hosted at the website. (http://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?Live=9419).

The Eye Digest
http://www.agingeye.net

The Eye Digest provides information on diseases of the eye as patient education. The content of the websitte, all written by qualified ophthalmologists, is maintained by the Eye & Ear Infirmary of the University of Illinois. The intention of this website is to provide easy and free access to unbiased and non-commercial information on eye disease conditions, an attempt to empower the public to take control of the vision health, while educating them on the importance and need for further medical advances. Apart from information on vision basics, there are also credible information on different aspects of laser vision correction. Some of the topics covered including Macular Degeneration, Vision and Ageing, Cataract, Dry eye, Diabetic Retinopathy, and Glaucoma, At the website, there are also useful links and health video (http://www.agingeye.net/mainnews/videos.php) in keeping the public updated on the treatment and preventation of various eye problems.

OphthoBook
http://www.ophthobook.com/

The website is a free online version of the ophthalmology textbook, with video-lectures for each chapter. The videos correlate closely with the book chapters, and the full-motion video/animation segments helps understanding of the different eye disease conditions. Some of the chapters of the book include History and Physical, Basic Eye Anatomy, Glaucoma, Retina Eye Infections, Neurology, Pediatrics, Trauma, Optics, Lens & Cataract. At the website, there are also other educational modules like Online Flashcards, and Recommended Ophthalmology Books, and Other Online Resources to Ophthalmology.s

Thieme E-Book Library
http://ebooks.thieme.com/catalog/show/ophthalmology/33

Thieme E-Book Library is an online collection of downloadable and fully illustrated textbooks from thieme's Color Atlases and Flexibook series. Textbook titles include Color Atlases and Flexibook series. Textbook title include Color Atlas of Ophthalomology, Neuro-Ophthalmology Illustrated, Ophthalmology, Ophtho Notes, Retina in Systemic Disease. It has a user-friendly interface with high-qulity illustrations. Searching tools are available for conductin gfield and full-text searches within individual books, or throughtout the entire E-Book Library.

EyeRounds.org - Ophthalomology cases indexd by condition
http://EyeRounds.org

The website is published by the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences of the University of Iowa. It harbors a huge inventory of well illustrated case studies. These cases were presented during grand rounds at the department in its ophthalmology forum for review or study purposes. Some of the features include Ophthalmology cases indexed by condition, Ophthalmology Grand Rounds, Ophthalomology atlas, Ophthalmology tutorial, and Video atlas. A library of surgical videos of different eye procedures is hosted inder Video Atlas.

Wills Eye Knowledge Porta
http://www.willseyeonline.org/

All CME Materials and courses at the website are free of charge. A good way to started at the website is by taking the very helpful Virtual Video Tour, which outlines all essential features of the website. There are surgical videos, CME courses, and online lecturesm available at the website. Browsing at the website requires registration to the website, which is free of charge. Some of the titles of recent CME courses include: Choroidal Nevus; Patient Selection and Expectation for Catatact Surgery; Thyroid ophthalmopathy; Herpes Anterior Segment Disease; Macular Degeneration; Diplopia Danger Signs; and OCT scan etc.

Medscape Ophthalmology
http://www.medscape.org/ophthalmology

Medscape Ophthalmology website has their educational materials presented indifferent formats. The formats includ Conference Coverage, Clinical update articles, CME-LIVE, Clinical briefm Journal CME articles, Special report CME, and CME CIRCLE. The CME-LIVE comes with online streaming video, synchronized visuals, and interactive questions and answers. The CME CIRCLE in cludes multimedia content from live symposia or monographs from other providers, which were then posted onto Medscape.