WWW-based e-teaching of normal anatomy as an introduction to telemedicine and e-health

Telemedicine, e-health, and e-education are becoming a new reality in studying medicine. A wide range of medical educational courses are available on the Web, including basic medical science resources. The aim of the study was to evaluate the frequency of visiting a Web page accordingly to didactic events during academic activity and to survey medical students about how they assess the Web page-assisted anatomy learning and whether it gives them any prerequisite to telemedicine in future. Two questionnaires were distributed among the medical university students and then collected and analyzed. The Web page was statistically analyzed to evaluate the Department's Web page usability. From January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2005 the Anatomy Department Web page was visited by students 147,425 times, in 2003--34,534, 2004--45,771, and 2005--67,120. The most often visited Web pages were the practical exam-- pin test image galleries. Overall 539 medical students were surveyed about Anatomy Department Web page at the end of the academic year 2005/2006. Most of the students (41.7%) used the Web page content often, others (38.7%) infrequently and the rest (12.4%) rarely. Students attempting to amend the final anatomy practical exam occupied the Web page for an hour (37.9%) or 2-3 hours (48.5%) while learning. The majority of surveyed students knew the term "telemedicine" well (22.3%) or rather knew (60.2%). The students were convinced that skills gained during utilizing the Anatomical Web page would enhance their abilities to practice telemedicine in the future (85.4%). Most of the surveyed students have a positive attitude toward the use of didactic Internet resources. A significant number of students learn about telemedicine very early in medical studies, and this may be a favorable prognostic factor for further telemedicine study and use later in career.