E-Mail, Continued
The e-mail list has resulted in several positive effects. There
is an increased communication between child neurologists,
particularly between those of different countries. Rapidity of
communication is an advantage, and, for example, the list has been
utilized at times when pharmaceutical companies were contemplating
withdrawal of certain anticonvulsants from the market. By allowing
the Child Neurology community to be quickly mobilized, we were able
to speak in a quick, organized and loud voice. The list affords an
opportunity to discuss matter of practice that either may not be
dealt with in journal articles, or have just recently been published.
Calls for research subjects also reach the appropriate physicians,
and can quickly place appropriate patients with interested
investigators. Practical diagnostic and management issues, both basic
and complex, as well as ethical issues in our practice are freely
discussed. Recently, the Child-Neuro e-mail list and other pediatric
subspecialty e-mail lists were reviewed (Hernández-Borges
et al, 1997) . It is of note that the authorship of messages to
these e-mail lists are of similar quality (as judged in terms of
recently authored publications) to authors of articles in the
respective subspecialty journals. This would argue that the
contributions to the lists are of similar quality to our other venues
of communication. Although the messages are not peer-reviewed prior
to posting on a list, the e-mail list typically critiques and
discusses the postings after they are sent.