Epilepsy.com Launches Internet Resource for Health Care Professionals
Reston, VA
The Epilepsy Project (TEP) today announced the launch of Epilepsy.com/Professionals (http://www.epilepsy.com/professionals), the first internet-based resource to be created by, and exclusively for health care professionals caring for patients with epilepsy. With similar objectives as its parent website Epilepsy.com, the professional site provides the most comprehensive, multi-layered online epilepsy resource of knowledge and informed opinions contributed, reviewed by, and shared among professionals in the epilepsy field with the aim of empowering clinicians and professionals and supporting best practices in patient care.
"Our mission at Epilepsy.com/Professionals is to inform and empower doctors, nurses and other health care providers when caring for patients facing an epilepsy diagnosis or struggling with epilepsy that has resisted the usual treatments," said Steven Schachter, M.D., Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Director of Research, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Editor-in-Chief, Epilepsy.com. "Unique features enable professionals to communicate and collaborate, share personal experiences, and obtain valuable resources to provide to their patients. Based on feedback from site visitors, we will continue to tailor the content and tools to meet the needs of professionals."
Epilepsy.com/Professionals significantly broadens the aim of Epilepsy.com as one of the first and only one-stop epilepsy education and information resources in line with the mission of the site's founders. The professional site addresses the many complex issues faced by epileptologists, neurologists, pediatricians, general practitioners, nurses, social workers, and other health care professionals caring for patients with epilepsy. Practitioners not specializing in epilepsy are faced with the challenge of staying current with new developments in the field; the professional site seeks to address this need by supplying continuous updates on the latest research and therapeutic breakthroughs. All content on the site is referenced by physician editors affiliated with leading clinical and research institutions throughout the world. Features of the site include:
- Medical and Scientific Information--over 2,000 web pages of current and comprehensive information about epilepsy for professionals including content from three leading textbooks of epilepsy specially adapted for web viewing
- Professional Forum--a forum (message board) enabling the user to communicate with other health care professionals regarding epilepsy related care issues as well as to share their own views and insights. Visitors are pre-screened and validated through a registration process before access is granted.
- Epilepsy News--links to articles published in relevant trade journals
- Resource Library linking to:
- Stories from Professionals--inspiring stories shared by professionals focusing on their own emotional experiences which provide frequently hard-to-find insight and community for professionals facing complex patient care issues
- Articles and Publications--editorials and articles on current research
- Document Library--printable patient handouts such as quality-of-life questionnaires and seizure calendars
- Treatment and Diagnostic Reference Tables and Tools--printable clinical information presented throughout the site for professionals to use as reference
- Peer Events--calendar of relevant symposia and workshops with links for registration
"We are very pleased to be launching a resource for epilepsy professionals who share many of the frustrations that their patients experience and struggle with when navigating treatment issues," said May Liang, Executive Director of The Epilepsy Project. "The founders of Epilepsy.com envisioned a website with comprehensive information and interaction for the entire epilepsy community when we launched the site one year ago in November of 2003; this professional site fulfills that mission."
Epilepsy is a multi-layered disorder complicated by numerous co-morbidities and representing an unmet need with a shortage of successful research and treatment options. More than a third of the 2.3 million epilepsy patients in the U.S.(a) have persistent seizures, or refractory epilepsy, while using existing therapies. Uncontrolled, this disorder may lead to serious side effects, including diminished cognition, and mental and behavioral pathology. New therapies introduced over the last decade offer fewer side effects than previous medications, but little improvement in seizure control.
About Epilepsy.com
Epilepsy.com is an online resource that was conceived and developed by The Epilepsy Project to provide a rich source of information and resources for patients, families and health care professionals treating the disorder. The mission of Epilepsy.com is to inform and empower patient populations and their caregivers including those facing newly diagnosed epilepsy and those struggling with epilepsy that has resisted the usual treatments. Founders and editorial board members of Epilepsy.com include leading clinicians and researchers in the field of epilepsy from such renowned institutions as Harvard Medical School, New York University School of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, and the University of California, San Francisco. Original design and programming of the website was produced by Zoomedia, Inc. (www.zoomedia.com)
About The Epilepsy Project
The Epilepsy Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing new treatments for people living with epilepsy. Founded in 2002 by three fathers of young children diagnosed with epilepsy along with their children's physician, a leading researcher and clinician in the field of epilepsy, the organization has raised over five million dollars towards its mission. For further information or to contribute to The Epilepsy Project, please visit www.epilepsyproject.org.
(a) Epilepsy Foundation