Medpedia, the medical equivalent of Wikipedia will launch at the end of 2008. This collaborative global project aims to "collect the best information about health, medicine and the body and make it freely available worldwide." It will be cross-disciplinary and not subject to socio-economic or geographic constraints. This comprehensive medical resource partners with Harvard Medical School, Stanford School of Medicine, Berkeley School of Public Health, University of Michigan Medical School and other leading global health organizations. Due to the highly professional nature of the wiki, not everyone can be contributors and editors - you have to have a PhD or MD. Medpedia is not the first medical wiki but the collaborative nature of the site makes it very promising.
Medpedia is part of Ooga Labs, a technology company in San Francisco. Mediawiki is the open source software used - the same software that runs other wikis including Wikipedia.
Medical Wikipedia
Medpedia
Trend Themes
1. Collaborative Medical Resources - The launch of Medpedia, a collaborative global project, presents opportunities for disruptive innovation in the development of comprehensive and reliable medical resources.
2. Cross-disciplinary Knowledge Sharing - Medpedia's aim to collect the best information about health and medicine without socio-economic or geographic constraints opens up possibilities for disruptive innovation in cross-disciplinary knowledge sharing.
3. Expert-driven Wiki Platforms - The professional nature of Medpedia, requiring contributors and editors to have a PhD or MD, highlights the potential for disruptive innovation in expert-driven wiki platforms.
Industry Implications
1. Healthcare - The launch of Medpedia presents disruptive innovation opportunities in the healthcare industry through the development of comprehensive and reliable medical resources.
2. Education - Medpedia's cross-disciplinary knowledge sharing approach opens up disruptive innovation possibilities in the education industry, particularly in the field of health and medicine.
3. Technology - The use of open-source software like Mediawiki in Medpedia highlights disruptive innovation opportunities in the technology industry, specifically in the development of expert-driven wiki platforms.