ISSN 0031 9406 June 1995 Vdume 81, No 6

Journal of The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy

CSP telephone 0171-306 6653

Journal telephone 0171-306 6662 Journal fax 0171-306 6667

THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY Information management and technology has come a long way since the late 1960s. At that time computers were highly sophisti- cated machines but they occupied whole rooms or even buildings. The desktop was a thing of the future. In those days, computers were for boffins who spoke of bytes, gophers and motherboards - words which are commonplace today. By the mid 1970s the successes of modem technology af€orded the first home computer to be born, the Altair, and it was this ‘inven- tion’ that fired the imagination of Bill Gates of Microsoft fame to push the frontiers of home and business computing further than was ever dreamed possible. Now, from your desktop (and even your laptop) computer you can access the world faster than you can blink. Networking, as it is called, is how you can achieve this. Ultimately, networking will be available all over the globe as the development of public systems brings access to limitless worldwide communication. This network has been likened to a global electronic nervous sys- tem, which will facilitate the swift arrival of personal data communications in offices and homes across the world; this in itself will begin the change in the way people work and companies do business. It has been estimated that in America, within the next five years, most companies and organisations will be conducting their business over the public Internet system. This system was founded in the 1970s as a data communications network for acad- demics; today it is the embryo of the information superhighway.

Ultimately the network will be as easily accessi- ble from a home PC as it will be from an office workstation. Data availability will range from airline reservations to instant video-conferencing. You may never need to leave your home to attend that vital meeting. The possibility of receiving remote medical diagnoses will be commonplace; there may be no more waiting around in out- patient clinics.

Going ‘on-line’ to the information superhighway will be as simple as plugging in the telephone, and may even use the same socket in the wall. At a basic level, with a modem and a monthly account of around €10, anyone can now send, and receive, reams of electronic mail around the world. Compuserve and e-mail may be familiar. Research databases can be accessed and information retrieved at the click of a mouse button. The possibilities are endless. Ask yourself the questions ‘Would it be useful to be able to access patient records in 30 seconds, read the GF“s files and link in current episodes of care with past history, and then update the records with my treatment protocols, so that everyone handling that patient sees the holistic picture?

‘Software 2000 - A View of the Future’ was a

workshop held last year in the UK and partici- pants unanimously agreed that the importance of networking to future economic, industrial and social development cannot be overstated, and that the emergence of software which enables lay peo- ple to gain access to the world’s most powerful information systems and to use them in a natural and effective way is paramount.

Unfortunately, like most innovative products, there are legal issues which need to be addressed. For example; what liabilities will originators of certain kinds of information bear if the data prove to be wrong? Will it be possible to insure against legal redress or to issue warranties about the quality of data? And how will we restrict public access to information considered classified?

Like it or not, the information superhighway is here to stay. For most people, the immediate future will mean a new Windows PC on the desk- top and easy electronic mail and file sharing. Long term, it means a high speed ride to the elec- tronic global village. If you get it right, the world will be your oyster.

Jane Dixon GraaDipPhys MCSP Private Practitioner, Fenstanton, Cambridge

Vice-chairman, Journal Committee

THE OTHER (IMMORTAL) INTERNET Valuable as the computer-based Internet promises to be, the written word has endured since the Sumeriam jotted down their thoughts in Cuneiform 6,000 years ago, and must continue as a primary form of recording information.

This issue of the Journal, with articles from and concerning three continents, is not exceptional. Last year alone we published papers from Aus- tralia, Canada, Finland, Hong Kong, Kuwait, New Zealand, Nigeria, Switzerland, the USA and Zimbabwe, as well as all the countries of the British Isles. ‘In other journals’ and book reviews also make a valuable contribution to the widening of international awareness.

More than 10,000 physiotherapists are expected to gather for a week in Washington this month. But that still leaves well over 180,OOO members of WCPT organisations staying at home. And even those fortunate enough to be presenf, can hope to meet only a fraction of those attending and exchange only a small proportion of the informa- tion they would wish.

Physiotherapy has a tradition of publishing arti- cles on merit, as selected through its peer review system, without regard to origin. Increasingly, they come from outside as well as within the UK and the Journal can now be regarded as first choice for papers of world-wide significance. (Instructions for submission are given on page 352 of this issue.)

For every professional who wishes to report research findings, present an innovative concept, develop clinical techniques, progress pre- and postgraduate education for therapists, discuss management issues or consider delivery of health care seMces throughout the world, Physiotherapy is crucial. With its range of contributors, talented professional staff, and huge international circulation, it can bring the physical therapy universe to the door of every practitioner.

Jill Whitehouse BA Managing Editor