This is an update of research into a previous SlideShare looking at the use of Wikipedia to research health conditions and diseases. There is also an interview with top Wikipedia editor Dr James Heilman

1. The Wikipedia Health Landscape
Researching Health Conditions
on Wikipedia
November 10th 2016

2. Introduction
This is an update of a popular report (April 2014) on the use of Wikipedia
to research health conditions by patients and doctors alike
This report cited research showing how important Wikipedia is as a ‘go to’
reference to doctors and patients alike. While there are an ever increasing
range of health resources for patients and doctors, Wikipedia retains its
dominance in its position in search engine rankings and and number of
views
So what if anything has changed in 2 ½ years?

3. Introduction
This report is divided into 2 parts
1. Analysis into the use of Wikipedia as a health information resource
tool
2. An interview with the most influential editor

4. Part 1
Wikipedia Health Analysis

5. The following slide outlines Average Daily Views (ADVs) across the original
‘Top 20’ list of most popularly viewed medical conditions. The original list
was kept for comparison reasons. This list may not be the exact current Top
20 highest ranked disease pages but gives a good representation of user
search and editor behavior
(It actually is not the Top 20 list as it was originally selected based on conditions that are commonly
treated by pharmaceutical products. This is a nice list of all medical pages including conditions. Not
all are current thankfully – The Black Death still ranks highly…)
Most Popular Pages

6. Rank (2014) Rank Disease Average Daily Views Views 2014 Growth
1 1 Bipolar 10112 9080 111%
2 2 Schizophrenia 9642 8475 114%
3 3 Crohns disease 8617 8145 106%
4 4 Multiple Sclerosis 7882 7977 99%
5 5 Diabetes 6102 6086 100%
8 6 Alzheimers Disease 5263 4603 114%
6 7 HIV 4905 4928 100%
10 8 ADHD 4838 4117 118%
7 9 Hypertension 4526 4819 94%
13 10 Influenza 4031 3480 116%
11 11 COPD 3993 3852 104%
12 12 Rheumatoid Arthritis 3845 3762 102%
9 13 Multiple Myeloma 3578 4301 83%
16 14 Epilepsy 3483 3147 111%
14 15 Anxiety 3252 3460 94%
17 16 Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease 3105 2844 109%
15 17 Asthma 2906 3213 90%
20 18 Depression 2781 2287 122%
18 19 Breast Cancer 2386 2496 96%
19 20 Cardiovascular Disease 1773 2311 77%
Average Views Per Day by Disease
Data sourced from Wikipedia taken over the previous 12 months – Oct 29 2015 – Oct 28 2016
Note HIV is actually the virus and HIV/AIDS the medical condition. HIV is used here to be consistent with the original report

7. Rank (2014) Rank Disease Average Daily Views Views 2014 Growth
1 1 Bipolar 10112 9080 111%
2 2 Schizophrenia 9642 8475 114%
3 3 Crohns disease 8617 8145 106%
4 4 Multiple Sclerosis 7882 7977 99%
5 5 Diabetes 6102 6086 100%
8 6 Alzheimers Disease 5263 4603 114%
6 7 HIV 4905 4928 100%
10 8 ADHD 4838 4117 118%
7 9 Hypertension 4526 4819 94%
13 10 Influenza 4031 3480 116%
11 11 COPD 3993 3852 104%
12 12 Rheumatoid Arthritis 3845 3762 102%
9 13 Multiple Myeloma 3578 4301 83%
16 14 Epilepsy 3483 3147 111%
14 15 Anxiety 3252 3460 94%
17 16 Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease 3105 2844 109%
15 17 Asthma 2906 3213 90%
20 18 Depression 2781 2287 122%
18 19 Breast Cancer 2386 2496 96%
19 20 Cardiovascular Disease 1773 2311 77%
Data sourced from Wikipedia taken over the previous 12 months – Oct 29 2015 – Oct 28 2016
The Top 5 conditions remain
unchanged in the rank of
their average daily views
(those dropping in red and
increasing in green)

8. Rank (2014) Rank Disease Average Daily Views Views 2014 Growth
1 1 Bipolar 10112 9080 111%
2 2 Schizophrenia 9642 8475 114%
3 3 Crohns disease 8617 8145 106%
4 4 Multiple Sclerosis 7882 7977 99%
5 5 Diabetes 6102 6086 100%
8 6 Alzheimers Disease 5263 4603 114%
6 7 HIV 4905 4928 100%
10 8 ADHD 4838 4117 118%
7 9 Hypertension 4526 4819 94%
13 10 Influenza 4031 3480 116%
11 11 COPD 3993 3852 104%
12 12 Rheumatoid Arthritis 3845 3762 102%
9 13 Multiple Myeloma 3578 4301 83%
16 14 Epilepsy 3483 3147 111%
14 15 Anxiety 3252 3460 94%
17 16 Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease 3105 2844 109%
15 17 Asthma 2906 3213 90%
20 18 Depression 2781 2287 122%
18 19 Breast Cancer 2386 2496 96%
19 20 Cardiovascular Disease 1773 2311 77%
Data sourced from Wikipedia taken over the previous 12 months – Oct 29 2015 – Oct 28 2016
Average Daily Views (ADVs)
are up overall 4% compared
to 2 ½ years ago

9. Rank (2014) Rank Disease Average Daily Views Views 2014 Growth
1 1 Bipolar 10112 9080 111%
2 2 Schizophrenia 9642 8475 114%
3 3 Crohns disease 8617 8145 106%
4 4 Multiple Sclerosis 7882 7977 99%
5 5 Diabetes 6102 6086 100%
8 6 Alzheimers Disease 5263 4603 114%
6 7 HIV 4905 4928 100%
10 8 ADHD 4838 4117 118%
7 9 Hypertension 4526 4819 94%
13 10 Influenza 4031 3480 116%
11 11 COPD 3993 3852 104%
12 12 Rheumatoid Arthritis 3845 3762 102%
9 13 Multiple Myeloma 3578 4301 83%
16 14 Epilepsy 3483 3147 111%
14 15 Anxiety 3252 3460 94%
17 16 Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease 3105 2844 109%
15 17 Asthma 2906 3213 90%
20 18 Depression 2781 2287 122%
18 19 Breast Cancer 2386 2496 96%
19 20 Cardiovascular Disease 1773 2311 77%
Data sourced from Wikipedia taken over the previous 12 months – Oct 29 2015 – Oct 28 2016
This growth is very mixed across disease
areas, with Depression & ADHD seeing the
largest increases and Multiple Myeloma &
CV disease seeing the largest decreases.

10. The following slide shows the ’Top 20’ pages ranked by page views along
with the corresponding number of annual edits
Most Edited Pages

11. Most Edited Pages
• Page edits in the previous year are
significantly less than the all time
average indicating pages are maturing
• Edits to the COPD page in the last year
are comparable to the all time annual
edits
• Influenza has dropped sharply with
respect to edits, 33 in the last 12
months versus an annual average of
350
• ADHD has the most edits in the last 12
months, reflecting its ’controversial’
statusData sourced from Wikipedia taken over the previous 12 months – Oct 29 2015 – Oct 28 2016
Rank Disease Page Edits Previous Year Page Edits All Time per year
1 Bipolar 294 508
2 Schizophrenia 204 501
3 Crohns disease 225 288
4 Multiple Sclerosis 80 344
5 Diabetes 84 474
6 Alzheimers Disease 186 508
7 HIV 56 302
8 ADHD 456 760
9 Hypertension 184 335
10 Influenza 33 350
11 COPD 195 198
12 Rheumatoid Arthritis 94 190
13 Multiple Myeloma 109 92
14 Epilepsy 217 320
15 Anxiety 167 238
16 Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease 96 142
17 Asthma 83 467
18 Depression 274 344
19 Breast Cancer 167 433
20 Cardiovascular Disease 70 222

12. The following slide focuses on edits for the Top 10 conditions and looks at
the Top 5 editors volume of contributions for each of these conditions.
The Top Editors

13. Rank Disease Total
Editors
Total
Edits
Editor #1 Editor #2 Editor #3 Editor #4 Editor #5
1
Bipolar
62 294 70 47 27 20 14
2
Schizophrenia
61 204 60 15 14 8 7
3
Crohns Disease
100 225 44 22 8 8 8
4
Multiple Sclerosis
32 80 29 7 6 3 2
5
Diabetes
42 84 23 3 3 3 3
6
Alzheimers
74 189 40 31 8 5 4
7
HIV
33 56 6 4 4 4 3
8
ADHD
113 457 101 56 38 27 23
9
Hypertension
70 185 46 10 10 7 6
10
Influenza
24 33 4 3 2 2 2
Editor No of
diseases
edited
Doc James 8
Rjwilmsi* 6
Permstrump 3
Cynulliad 2
Jytdog 2
Motivação 2
Across the Top 10 diseases, 6 of the Top 5 editors
have edited more than one disease with
Doc James dominating
Data sourced from Wikipedia taken over the previous 12 months – Oct 29 2015 – Oct 28 2016
Doc James is #1 editor across 6 and
#2 editor across 2 of the top 10
diseases
*Note Rjwilmsi mostly corrects reference
formating using a semi automated
software application

14. Rank Disease Total
Editors
Total
Edits
Editor #1 Editor #2 Editor #3 Editor #4 Editor #5
1
Bipolar
62 294 70 47 27 20 14
2
Schizophrenia
61 204 60 15 14 8 7
3
Crohns Disease
100 225 44 22 8 8 8
4
Multiple Sclerosis
32 80 29 7 6 3 2
5
Diabetes
42 84 23 3 3 3 3
6
Alzheimers
74 189 40 31 8 5 4
7
HIV
33 56 6 4 4 4 3
8
ADHD
113 457 101 56 38 27 23
9
Hypertension
70 185 46 10 10 7 6
10
Influenza
24 33 4 3 2 2 2
Across this group of editors Doc James has
more edits than the other 5 put together
Data sourced from Wikipedia taken over the previous 12 months – Oct 29 2015 – Oct 28 2016
Doc James is has 372 edits versus
254 combined of the other
highlighted top editors
Editor Total
Number of
Edits
Doc James 372
Cynulliad 84
Permstrump 57
Rjwilmsi 40
Jytdog 38
Motivação 35

15. Rank Disease Total
Editors
Total
Edits
Editor #1 Editor #2 Editor #3 Editor #4 Editor #5
1
Bipolar
62 294 70 47 27 20 14
2
Schizophrenia
61 204 60 15 14 8 7
3
Crohns Disease
100 225 44 22 8 8 8
4
Multiple Sclerosis
32 80 29 7 6 3 2
5
Diabetes
42 84 23 3 3 3 3
6
Alzheimers
74 189 40 31 8 5 4
7
HIV
33 56 6 4 4 4 3
8
ADHD
113 457 101 56 38 27 23
9
Hypertension
70 185 46 10 10 7 6
10
Influenza
24 33 4 3 2 2 2
Across the Top 10 of this cohort of top editors
Doc James has almost half of the edits (47%)
Data sourced from Wikipedia taken over the previous 12 months – Oct 29 2015 – Oct 28 2016
Doc James has 372 edits versus 415
combined of the other highlighted top
10 editors (47% of total)
Editor Total
Number of
Edits
Doc James 372
Cynulliad 84
Permstrump 57
Seppi333 56
Barbara 44
Rjwilmsi 40
Jytdog 38
BallenaBlanca 38
Motivação 35
Garzfoth 23

16. The Top Editors - summary
So Doc James aka Dr James M Heilman has absolutely dominated the
editing landscape of these most viewed medical conditions in the last 12
months. This is an absolutely impressive individual achievement,
particularly as Dr Heilman edits across the field of medicine
It did however raise some questions, so I figured who better to address than
Dr Heilman himself, and he kindly agreed to answer them!
(See this link for Doc James’ broader edits across medicine where he dominates across all
languages)

17. Part 2
Interview with Dr James Heilman (Doc James)

18. James Heilman is one of the primary editors of
Wikipedia’s health and medical content, like all of the
online encyclopedia’s collaborators he contributes on
a voluntary basis. He was appointed head of the
department of emergency medicine at East Kootenay
Regional Hospital in Cranbrook, Canada, in October
of last year, after having worked there as an
emergency physician since 2010. He also teaches at
the University of British Columbia. In 2000 he
graduated in Anatomy from the University of
Saskatchewan, where he earned his medical degree
in 2003. Since then, he has spent most of his career
working in emergency medicine, teaching and writing.
Dr James Heilman (Doc James)

19. Gary: Are there issues with one person having so much influence on a
particular subject area? For example giving too much of a one sided
perspective, creating a fragile situation if that person leaves or simply being
stretched too thin
Doc James: As Wikipedia's goal is simply to reflect the best available
evidence and we have clear guidelines that define what these are, I think the
risk is lower. There are definitely concerns regarding the size of the editing
community and risks of deterioration if a few key individuals were to quit or
move on. The same concerns exist in other topic areas and are not
exclusive to medicine.

20. Gary: What can Wikipedia / Wiki project medicine do to encourage more
editors of a diverse nature to get involved in contributing to medical content?
Doc James: We are working with medical schools including USCF. We are
collaborating with the CDC, PAHO, and the NIH as well as a number of
medical journals. A number of us travel around and speak at medical
conferences to encourage more health care providers to get involved, but it
is tough as people are busy. Growing the community is a sort of holy grail.

21. Gary: Doctors clearly rely on Wikipedia but very few seem to edit. Are
doctors just takers in this regard and do more need to get involved in
editing?
Doc James: All students who work with me get training on editing
Wikipedia. While the core community is small there is a much larger group
that edits to a lesser extent.

22. Gary: You mentioned your work in helping doctors get involved, i.e. as part
of their medical school training. What other creative ways can be employed
to get doctors contributing more?
Doc James: We have tried a large number of things to encourage people to
contribute. While we have been successful in bringing about short term
contributions, creating long term editors has been more elusive. Hopefully
over time working to improve Wikipedia will garner greater academic
recognition. When improving Wikipedia helps students land a residency
position or professors gain tenure I believe people will make more time to do
this work

23. Gary: If a medical device /biotech/pharma company had a real issue with
something on a Wikipedia medical page, perhaps from a patient safety
perspective what would you advise them to do?
Doc James: If there is an actual significant error, they can raise this concern
at WT:MED along with a high quality secondary source. They need to keep
brevity in mind. If they want an article about their device rewritten or a bunch
of minor changes made they will probably not find someone who will do this.
We strongly suggest they not edit the content directly or pay someone to edit
on their behalf.

24. Gary: How do you keep up with this gargantuan task and work in your
leading physician role?
Doc James: I work half time as an ER physician and full time as a
Wikipedian :-)

25. Many thanks to Dr James Heilman for answering these questions so
candidly. I am interested if you have any thoughts or questions, if so please
get in touch! In the case of questions I am happy to pull together and share
with Dr Heilman for a follow up discussion.

26. Thank you
@garymonk
linkedin.com/in/garywmonk