E-DRUG: E-drug: technical update

E-drug: technical update
------------------------

Dear E-druggers,

Nearly 500 people are now subscribing to E-drug, and several interesting debates
have been initiated. There is also substantial participation from developing
countries.

E-drug is technically organised by Healthnet/Satellife, but its moderation is
run by volunteers. Hilbrand Haak, Syed Rizwan Ahmad, Richard Laing and Wilbert
Bannenberg have offered to help with general moderation. We will soon start
rotating the moderation.

There was also a proposal from Ole Frank Nielsen to identify specific moderators
for special topics, e.g. drug financing, drug registration, essential drug
programme management. Their tasks could be to stimulate discussions, e.g. by
inviting people to submit new ideas/experiences or to post interesting news on
E-drug. Volunteers for such special topics are welcome!

Sometimes participants post 'simple' questions which are relevant for that
person, but maybe not for all E-druggers. Sometimes the answer can be found in
standard reference books like Martindale. The moderators 'filter' those
questions and send them to 3-4 people who have volunteered to answer those.

It was also proposed to start an "E-drug literature club" by posting
abstracts/summaries from interesting journals that might not be so accessible to
the E-drug network. However, till today only two E-druggers volunteered to
review journals they read (the Canadian Med Ass Journal, the FDA News
Bulletins). Other volunteers are welcome.

The "Who is where on email in essential drugs" email address list also needs an
update. Although not formally related to E-drug (which has a separate
participants list), it might be useful to add your name or update your entry for
the "who is where on email in essential drugs", as this will help other people
to find you. A summary of your background and interests in essential drugs (in
3-4 lines) would be helpful. Additions/changes can be sent to Wilbert Bannenberg
at: 73377.3055@compuserve.com

If you want to review the last version (0.30): the email list is available from
Healthnet by sending a message to:
   majordomo@usa.healthnet.org
with in the text:
   get e-drug whoed030.txt
   end

In order to improve readability of E-drug messages, it would be helpful if you
could:
- send plain ASCII messages only
- set right margin or message width to 65 characters
- add the email address to your signature (fax, telephone and snailmail address
is also recommended)
- add relevant references / sources of information.

with kind regards,

Wilbert Bannenberg
E-drug moderator
Email: 73377.3055@compuserve.com

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