The Bioethics Online Service--an implementation of a bioethics database and information resource

Ethical analysis is crucial to decision making in biomedicine and health care, necessitating rapid access to diffusely disseminated sources of information pertinent to bioethics. We developed the Bioethics Online Service to provide this access and to provide a forum for discussion of bioethical issues. The service, originally designed as a local resource, was expanded to allow Internet access and now enjoys widespread extramural use. We have logged over 8,000 users from our campus, around the state, the nation, and 42 other countries. This model has shown promise in utility and ease of access, and is being used as the template for other informatics developments on our campus and beyond.