Libre Pathology – Case Study
We spoke with Michael Bonert, founder and owner of Libre Pathology.
What?
Libre Pathology is an open access, wiki-based website for pathology information.
When?
Created May 2010; launched July 2014.
Why?
Before starting the wiki, I scribbled things I needed to know on pieces of paper I was never able to find when I needed them. The wiki let me quickly find information, and I reasoned it would also be a way of sharing the notes – something I envisioned from the start.
It should be noted that Libre Pathology doesn't allow anonymous edits – an account is needed. Also, the wiki is not a place to put forward original research or theories; those should be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. The site supplements the primary literature and strives to be practical, and may even speed the adoption of best practices.
How?
We raise awareness primarily by word of mouth. As a participant in one of the largest pathology residency programs, I showed it to my colleagues and presented at the Residents’ Research Day. When I was on staff at Eastern Health, I made it available to the residents and other staff, and presented it at various meetings. In 2012, a poster I presented with Serge Jothy (St. Michael's Hospital) garnered an award at the Canadian Association of Pathologists Meeting. The site officially launched at a subsequent meeting. Since its launch, Libre Pathology has developed a presence on Twitter and Facebook, and I posted about it to PATHO-L (an online pathology discussion group). There will be a poster about Libre Pathology at this year’s USCAP meeting in Boston, and I will be presenting about pathology wikis and wikis in general.
What's next?
In the near term, I would like to establish a discussion forum for residents, where they can ask study questions, get answers, and point out things that are missing or need improvements on the wiki. Finding editors is the greatest challenge, and resident involvement is important, as they are generally more comfortable with Internet-based interaction.
In the medium term, I envision a not-for-profit entity running the website and keeping it free of advertisements.
I imagine a world in which up-to-date pathology information is freely available, easy to locate and understand quickly – which I think is slowly happening, but I want to speed it up because I think it would improve pathologists’ quality of the work and patient care.
Join In!
Unique monthly visitors 8,100
Number of monthly visits 16,900
Number of visits within six months of launch 66,000
Number of monthly page views 106,000
Number of pages views within six months of launch 513,000
Number of pages 5,900
Number of diagnoses 1,300
Why participate?
- To find information.
- To build a resource for pathologists without commercial influence.
- To help tell the wonderful story of pathology on an open access platform.
- To write in an environment that is “living,” constantly updating.
- To learn to write about pathology.
- To collaborate with people around the globe.
Assistant Professor of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
