[Online videos in the health field. Novel technologies for physicians and patients]

Like in other parts of the world, in Italy internet is an increasingly used source of diseases-related informations, used both by health professionals and by the patients. In recent years, besides the most common search engines, sanitary informations contained in video sharing sites have gained an increased influence, either in the search and in the choice phases. The aim of the present paper is to review the literature on the use of online videos in the health field. Experimental studies, reviews, and reports published by English magazines and scientific journals on this subject since the year 2000 have been included. 179 articles were identified, but only 45 were considered as relevant. The articles are schematically divided into three major categories according to their subject: videos for health information/patient education, videos for educational use and other uses of the video. We describe the critical aspects of the different video types and suggestions for their use, as well as some guidelines and hints for the preparation of new health information material in video format, specifically designed for spreading via the web. New technologies are nowadays an innovative form of worldwide communication. Unlike traditional videos, these resources stimulate the interaction among users and so they have become a sort of an hybrid between public and personal tools. The potential of these new tools, however, implies that all the traditional institutions dedicated to the research and education acquire the skill to use them.