James, a New Yorker, medical doctor and friend teaching emergency medicine here in Stockholm, has written a short paper on the state of emergency medicine in Sweden. I found it to be a compelling and accessible read, so I asked him if I could post it on my blog, as it is highly relevant to the current debate surrounding medical care in Sweden.

Here it is [PDF, 2000 words].

He’s now going to submit it to a medical journal. Posting it on a blog first does not jeopardize his chances of seeing it published, apparently, because journals only care about peer-reviewed competition.

So here is a case where blogs’ perceived lack of professionalism and trustworthiness can act in their favor as quick dissippators of information. You yourself still have to factor in the slight possibility that the ideas in the paper are complete bunk, but in return you get greatly sped up access to information. Whereas traditional publishing channels defend well-defined static spots on the communications spectrum, blogs are getting to roam everywhere inbetween.

As always, feedback is appreciated, of course.