On-line veterinary communities: the time is now or I've got a modem: what should I do with it? Where should I point it?

Veterinary medicine has until recently existed as a small and geographically diffuse group of professionals. Communicating with significant numbers of colleagues to confer on cases or business related issues on a regular basis has been limited primarily to those in academia. Isolation has prevented the individual practice from significantly affecting the policies of national suppliers or the politics of organized veterinary medicine through a large unified voice. Although only a small percentage of the profession is on-line, the building of on-line communities of veterinarians is currently changing the rules in these areas. Considering when, why, and how to venture into the world of on-line veterinary medicine is only part of the issue we face as a profession. Choosing to keep a sense of community as the centerpiece of on-line veterinary interactions is critical to ensuring that on-line veterinary medicine, above all, serves the best interests of the practicing veterinarian.