1. The Role of Medicine.lv in the Development of a Healthy and Educated Society Ieva Treija Medicine.lv

2. What Is a Vortal? Vertical Industry portal sometimes called vortal is a Web site that provides information and resources for a particular industry. Any vertical industry as well as its place in the Web – vortal - brings together people sharing an interest in exchanging information about that particular industry.

3. The Vortal as a Part of the Health Information System Health Ministry Associations Hospitals, clinics Physicians, experts Branch companies Medicine.lv Society

4. What is Medicine.lv? Medicine.lv is a health care industry vortal. Medicine.lv is active since 2004. Medicine.lv creates a link between a large audience and medicine and health care professionals. This communication gives society an opportunity to acquire information and to become educated. The vortal serves as a source of information for all interested individuals.

5. What is Medicine.lv? Various organizations and institutions have the opportunity to observe what issues in the field of medicine and health care are of public interest. From these data they can learn which information the society is missing, and organize their information flow accordingly.

6. Vortal’s Medicine.lv Visitation Statistics for the Period 2004–2007

7. Questions’ Research Methodology Goal – to clarify the topics of public interest. –Selection of the visitors’ questions by date –Summarizing the data for 4 periods –Examination of the first 100 questions of each period –Grouping the questions according to the health care spheres

8. Most Frequently Asked Questions

13. Period 1: Psychology and psychotherapy Period 2: Search for contacts with specialists Period 3: Search for contacts with specialists Period 4: Gynaecology & urology Topical Fields of Interest by 4 Periods

14. Conclusions From the summarized data we can draw the conclusion that the society is actively searching contacts with specialists. People are prepared to use internet resources. Therefore the web environment has to be improved. In this way we can help the society to become educated and to take care of their own and their families’ health.