As practicing physicians become more comfortable with using the World Wide Web, many will become more ambitious , and will want to put up their own web site to showcase   information about themselves, their skills, and their practices. Here are some  tips for physicians who might be interested in building their own Web sites, based on our experience with putting up India’s premier website for health and medicine, http://www.healthlibrary.com. This is a huge site ( over 150 megabytes of information) which is very busy – we get over 500000 hits per month !

Putting up your own website has become remarkably easy to do. You can, of course, pay a professional to do it for you, and there are many companies who will be happy to design and put up a website for you. However, it’s much more fun learning to do it for yourself – and if a teenager can do it, there’s no reason why you cannot ! There are just five simple steps to creating your own website.

1. Creating or Activating the "Webspace." Your internet service provider ( called an ISP), such as VSNL , MTNL or Satyam or Mantra, will often give you some webspace free of charge, which you will need to activate .

2. Creating the HTML Files. Web pages are written using HTML ( which stands for Hyper Text Markup Language) language. Learning basic HTML coding is helpful, but not necessary. You can just use a program that does the coding for you, such as Microsoft FrontPage .

3. Uploading the Files. Once the HTML files are created, the next step is putting them on your ISP’s web server.

4.Viewing Your Site. The first few times you build web pages, problems are virtually guaranteed to crop up. Viewing your pages and checking all links are critical steps.

5. Adding Advanced Features to Your Website. You can add bells and whistles such as animated graphics, bulletin boards, counters, guest books and quizlets to your website to “jazz” it up. Many of these are available on the web, and can be uploaded to your own site free of charge.

Of course, just putting up a website isn’t enough – there are millions out there, and you need to actively promote yours to make sure it gets visited. You need to submit your website to the many search engines on the web, to attract traffic ! The "Submit It!" website (www.submit-it.com) allows you to add your website listing to all of the popular search engines. Also, remember to put your website address on your letterhead and visiting cards, as well as on all your emails !

So, what are the benefits of putting up your own website ? For one, it’s an effective means of marketing your practise – and it’s not very expensive ! Not only can you tell prospective patients all about the specialised services you offer, it also provides patients with the positive impression that your practise is modern and uptodate ! Having a website does help to keep you current as well – because you will need to update your site often.  It also allows you to interact with patients ( and other doctors) from all over the world , thus allowing you to develop a global perspective. Having your own website also ensures that you remain uptodate with the latest internet technology , and stimulating your grey cells ensures you never get old mentally ! It’s good for your ego as well , because you’re likely to be the first doctor in your area to be one the Web , so do it when it’s still a novelty ! There will be a day when nearly everybody is hooked up in some form and if you aren't on the Internet, you will soon be at a disadvantage. Being connected also allows colleagues and other medical organizations to see the site, which can only help to enhance your status as a doctor.

However, do remember that maintaining a website can be quite time consuming. Computers are often impatience amplifiers – and Murphy’s law ensures that if something can go wrong, it will ! Also, don’t have unrealistic expectations that putting up a website will bring patients thronging to your doorstep – given the fact that only  few Indians surf the Net today, it won’t !

So what can you put up on your site ? Content  is the heart of a website, and because the web is a constantly evolving medium. you need to keep refreshing your site regularly— at least once a month ! You can put up information about your practise ; patient education information ; and even images and videos of interesting cases you have seen – you are limited only by your imagination , and the space you have on the server ! In order to protect yourself from potential medico-legal liability, you  should include a disclaimer on your site emphasizing that you are not prescribing treatment.

Many doctors find that the major benefit of a website it that it allows them to provide information to their patients . Many patients today actually prefer an email consultation with their doctor rather than a face-to-face consultation because it offers many advantages – it saves them a commute; saves their time; is less stressful and scary than going to the clinic; and ensures that do not forget any of their queries.

Caring, competence, and sensitivity to the needs of patients have always been a physicians' most prized qualities. But just as the most competent physician of today would be hard-pressed to practice without a telephone, those who  choose not to communicate electronically with patients may soon find  themselves at a similar disadvantage.

As a doctor, you should  take full advantage of the opportunity the Net offers you to provide your patients with the health information they want, delivered by the very person from whom they would most like to obtain it—their own doctor ! 

You can also a view a slide presentation of a lecture I gave recently on
Why Every Doctor Should Have Their Own Website !