Pathology imaging on the Web: Extending the role of the pathologist as educator to patients

The increasing role of patients in medical decision making and the growing availability of medical information are changing the physician- patient relationship. One aspect of this change is that patients are searching for medical information on the Internet and are visiting sites, including pathology sites, that were not originally intended for patient use. This article describes evidence for this activity and how the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Department of Pathology has evolved mechanisms to handle patient use of its web site.