Libre Pathology
Libre Pathology, abbreviated LP, is an open wiki-based pathology knowledge base. It is directed at pathologists, but open to anyone that wants to gain insight into the world of pathology.
- Here is the Main Page of Libre Pathology
Motivation
Imagine a world in which pathology information is accessible to every person with an internet connection. A richer understanding of pathology, regardless of your background, can be enriching.
Philosophy
The philosophy here is deliver the goods straight and give a differential diagnosis and images or at least links to some. Tables are considered highly desirable and decision trees useful. Dense text is seen as a weakness.
The site has no commercial sponsorship and does not run advertisements. The site is licensed with a creative commons license and the commitment to open is in the name; libre is free in French.
Editors
The site has a closed editorship. Editors are required to disclose commercial relationships and write from a neutral point of view. More details about editing Libre Pathology are found in the article editing Libre Pathology.
History
This project grew out the realization that nuggets of wisdom scribbled down on a piece of paper are never to be found when needed most.
The finding little bits of information thing, in a pile of it, was a problem where the solution was already out there (it is called a database), and some guys had already made a really niffy interface using PHP, and then built one of the biggest damn web sites out there (Wikipedia). Thus, the software that runs Wikipedia, was the obvious choice.
The guy that started it (Michael Bonert) passed the exam that motivated this, and then another one. Then, he realized the wiki is sort of useful... but could get even better with the help of others.
Milestones
- Official launch to the world wide web - 12 July 2014.
- Libre Pathology at one year - 12 July 2015.
Organization
Libre Pathology is run by Libre Pathology Limited, a company registered in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.