The innovative video-based website, developed by Belfast company StreamOn allows doctors, dentist and pharmacists to polish up on their skills whenever and wherever they want.
The edcastmedical website 
provides expert training from leading medical professional bodies, including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London; the Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency; the Northern Ireland Centre for Postgraduate Pharmaceutical Education and Training and iPath, a Queens University spinout company from the School of Pathology.
Courses in general practice, dentistry, pharmacy, obstetrics and gynaecology and pathology are available direct to the user’s PC from £20, representing a significant time and cost saving on attendance at lectures & seminars.
Launching the training website today in Parliament Buildings, Economy Minister, Nigel Dodds said: “Edcast Medical is a great example of how local creative digital talent can be applied to break new ground in global e-learning platforms. I hope it encourages other businesses in Northern Ireland to see the commercial potential of the internet. This site sets a very high standard and undoubtedly paves the way for further innovation in this area.”
Other e-learning websites exist but none can match Edcast Medical for the range and quality of professionally developed courses explained Mark McCann of StreamOn: “Each course addresses a training issue in depth, using a range of learning tools including video lectures with PowerPoint, video based patient/practitioner scenarios, equipment and procedure video demonstrations, knowledge testing, supporting downloadable documentation, and discussion forums.”
“Medical professionals are required to undertake high level continuing professional development as a mandatory requirement of their membership to professional bodies. Edcast Medical is the first provider to offer the ability for professional bodies to broker their knowledge online in such a video rich format. Thanks to the benefits of broadband technology there is the added convenience to the professional of being able to update their knowledge and skills whenever and wherever they want.”
Also speaking at the launch, Professor James Dornan, Immediate Past Senior President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said: “ EdCast Medical has provided a new, dynamic and interactive way of providing learning opportunities for our dispersed membership, allowing us to reach them directly and eradicating the time and expense needed to travel to our training facility in London.”
Discussions are also already underway between StreamOn and other professional bodies and colleges in the UK and further afield to offer further specialist training courses online.
Edcast Medical is one of six DETI-backed broadband content initiatives showcasing Northern Ireland’s digital creative talent to the world under the crea8ivity.com banner and has received financial backing under DETI’s Broadband Content Initiative.
Notes to Editors:
1. EdCast Medical has been developed by StreamOn.net Ltd., a spin-out company from The School of Computer Science at Queen’s University Belfast. Since the company was established in 2000 it has delivered complex broadband multimedia, web-based Content Management and e-Learning solutions to companies such as Hewlett Packard, Panasonic, a number of government agencies and public sector bodies.
2. EdCast Medical is a web platform which enables medical professionals to access video based medical training courses. Each of these are designed by professional bodies and delivered by highly respected experts. The site is being launched with 23 courses available in the disciplines of general practice, dentistry, pharmacy, obstetrics and gynaecology, and pathology.
Each course addresses a specific topic in depth, using a range of learning tools including video lectures with PowerPoint, video based patient/practitioner scenarios, equipment and procedure video demonstrations, knowledge testing, supporting downloadable documentation, and discussion forums.
EdCast Medical is providing professional medical bodies with an ongoing sustainable revenue model that will ensure the continued development of training materials. Each purchase on the website will equate to a royalty payment to the professional body which designed and delivered that course. Such is the commitment to professional training of each of these bodies they will be reinvesting heavily in the creation of further courses to enhance the quality of training in their profession. This revenue model is a very attractive proposition to professional bodies and a key feature of the unique benefits which EdCast Medical offer to its content providers.
Messaging and forums will provide interactivity for users to discuss the content and provide participants with the opportunity to pose and have questions answered by an expert or peer. Interactive rich media scenarios will allow trainees to work through a case-study, rating the likelihood of an outcome and providing the user with a breakdown of where they have deviated from an expert’s interpretation.
3. Endorsements from Professional Bodies for Edcast Medical
Jim Dornan, Immediate Past Senior Vice President Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
“We have over 12,000 fellows and members worldwide, with over half of this number outside the UK. Our education centre in London provides training courses, lectures and seminars on an almost daily basis, however it is mostly our members from the UK who avail of these opportunities. EdCast Medical has provided a new dynamic and interactive way of providing learning opportunities for our dispersed membership, allowing us to reach them directly and eradicating the time and expense needed to travel to London.”
Colin Adair, Director of Northern Ireland Centre for Postgraduate Pharmaceutical Education and Training
“Our target audience are pharmacists in Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Increasingly though we are involved in providing programmes of learning to the nursing and medical professions. Thus we have the potential to produce training courses for several thousand to tens of thousands of professionals. The reason we have chosen EdCast Medical as a digital publishing partner is fourfold. It’s cost effective to implement, the lead time for development is minimal, the material can be easily modified to reflect ongoing changes in practice, and it has the potential to reach massive audiences across professional boundaries.”
Agnes McKnight, Director of Postgraduate General Practice Education, Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency
“The life of the modern GP is very busy and their time is very precious so it isn’t always possible to attend training meetings and courses. However EdCast Medical has the potential to ensure that the best possible patient care is delivered in the community.”
Peter Hamilton, Managing Director, iPath Diagnostics Ltd.
“EdCast Medical is an innovative project, one that addresses our professional needs and could represent a tipping point in the delivery of medical education on a global scale.”
4. For further information or to contact any of the health professionals listed please contact Mark McCann, Stream On 028 9022 3131.
5. For media enquiries please contact the DETI Press Office, tel 028 9052 9297 or Michele Filippi 028 9076 9428.
6. Outside office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.
