Nephronline is hitting the spot with the UK's renal-team healthcare professionals.

The Website has received over 2.6 million visits since it was launched in August 2000. In the past three months alone, the site registered 487,000 hits. And in the first two weeks of April it was visited 57,000 times. Site analysis for the full month has still to be calculated but, if the interest is sustained in the last two weeks of the April, the Website is on target for yet another record month for visitors.

Consultant nephrologists are nephronline.org's greatest and most frequent users. But, at 39%, they only just pip the second-most-interested renal-team group -- nurses -- who are 38% of the overall "browsership".

Other renal-team visitors are:

		non-consultant doctors, at 12%;
		renal pharmacists, at 6%; and
		renal dietitians, at 2%.

Nephronline's registered browsership is also increasing month on month. It now has 1519 UK and Ireland health professionals registered. This is an 8% jump on the 1404 registered just six months ago.

Most popular features

Case histories are the most popular section among visitors.

Next comes the Supplement and Diary section, which keeps browsers informed about dates and venues of important renal-medicine meetings and seminars and reports on many of these afterwards. This section also contains reviews of significant articles in the renal journals.

Nephronline's Forefront and Debate section, in which renal-team members are encouraged to express their opinions about where renal medicine is going and how, is the third-most-favoured section.

Guidance about kidney-patient management and information on resources available to help the renal team in their work are other popular sections of the Website.

Media-industry plaudits

Nephronline has also been singled out for praise by its peers in the Media Industry. It was awarded a Commendation in the "Best Professional Education Project: Secondary Care" Section of the Communiqué 2001 Awards. That there were over 385 entries and that no more than five other entries were short listed in any one category, emphasises Nephronline's achievement.

As renal medicine continues to evolve to meet the needs of kidney patients, so nephronline.org will continue to develop to address the needs of those who care for them -- the renal healthcare team.