Archive for August, 2009
by Caitlin
The Center for Connected Health reports that Twitter will be an effective tool to notify the public of medical alerts and information. As we’ve seen with recent news events, including the Hudson River landing a few months ago and tales of people in trouble who tweeted for help, citizen journalism and Twitter are powerful tools to spread news quickly.
But, UPI reports that the key to Twitter’s success as a mass communication tool for such a serious subject will rely on ensuring cautiousness to avoid public panic and protect confidentiality and patient privacy.
While new media is certainly important and citizen journalism intriguing, all industries, and specifically the health industry, will soon have to take steps to remedy situations that may arise from inaccurately reported or false news from unofficial sources that could lead to public panic. Naturally, this is an even greater concern when one’s health is at stake. I’ll certainly be on the watch for government and health agencies developing standards and protocols to protect confidentiality and ensure cautiousness while disseminating news through social media channels, will you?
August 27th, 2009
by Caitlin
Or at least Esther Dyson thinks so. In today’s Financial Times, Dyson discusses how consumers are using the Internet to take control of their personal health. And it’s true –every day, more health-devoted blogs, Twitter handles and patient community sites crop up attracting more and more visitors.
In a recent interview with DiagnosisPR, new media evangelist Ron Ploof discussed how healthcare communication has changed over the past few generations. Ron noted that doctors were once the be-all, end-all for health information. Whatever your doctor diagnosed you with, you had, and whatever the doctor prescribed, you took. This began to change sometime around when the baby boomers began aging. More questions were asked. More doctors were consulted. Then, the Internet emerged as a tour de force. Now, when we go to the doctor, we are armed with questions and printouts from WebMD or a list of symptoms from About.com or iVillage. And chances are, we’ve probably also already talked to our mom, our friend, the daycare provider and the dry cleaner for their opinions along the way.
Dyson is right – the way we receive health information has certainly changed, and the way we engage in our personal health has also changed. But Dyson also wonders how the medical system will adapt to this grassroots approach. As Ploof pointed out, the government and healthcare providers will soon be forced to choose how they lead and engage in healthcare communications, because if they don’t, patients will go on talking without them. Between physicians’ Twitter handles, live OR streams and President Obama’s HealthReform.gov Website, the industry is certainly experimenting, but no clear direction taken yet.
Dyson put it simply, “health begins at home,” and the healthcare choices we make are based on the information and resources we have available to us. Now that we have more information at our disposal, from many different resources, it will be interesting to see how healthcare providers and the government adapt to the new modes of communication and understanding.
August 14th, 2009
by Caitlin
The White House is taking a lesson from President Obama’s campaign and venturing online to debunk healthcare reform plan myths with a new website, according to the Associated Press.
The Website hosts consumer FAQs and YouTube-esque videos of White House staffers discussing healthcare reform issues. Although the site holds only basic information at the moment, it encourages readers to find and engage in new information in the manner they prefer. Readers looking for more in depth information on the plan are directed to the administration’s HealthReform.gov Website, while social media enthusiasts can connect with others on the issue by visiting the White House’s Twitter and Facebook pages.
Physicians and hospitals have recently been experimenting with delivering health news through new media channels, but President Obama’s adoption of new media for healthcare communications may point to a real change in how healthcare information will be disseminated and received by consumers moving forward. Although we can’t be surprised by this move from our Internet-savvy Commander in Chief, it will be interesting to see how the rest of Washington responds.
August 11th, 2009
By Lynda
Silicon Alley Editor Nicholas Carlson thinks you should. Carlson wrote an interesting post this week about a recent hospital stay he had as a result of a broken foot. He shares his story of discomfort when he endured chills and tremors during a routine bandage change in the middle of night because the resident didn’t have the chart that would have forewarned her of the recurring chills.
Carlson wrote, “Here’s why this was all so frustrating: The resident should have known I’d get the tremors so bad, coming out of my sleep like that. It’d been happening for days.”
He points to the lack of easy information flow as the problem and points to a stat by Consumer Reports that shows less than 2 percent of hospitals in the U.S. have comprehensive electronic records systems that make patient information readily available anywhere in the hospital.
Carlson suggests that renting iPod Touches to patients including an app that allows them to keep notes and synch the medical information between the nurse and doctor, whom would also carry iPods, could be a practical solution.
He writes, “The notes could be video, text, audio, or photographic. I’ve had several nurses thank me for showing them a picture of the wound I keep on my iPhone before they re-do the bandages. It helps them proceed carefully and plan ahead.”
At Diagnosis PR, we’ve blogged about electronic patient records in the past, but Carlson may be onto something here as well, what do you think?
August 7th, 2009
By Erica
This morning, the WSJ reported on various Silicon Valley companies striving to reduce healthcare costs and inefficiencies using high-tech methods. Examples include:
• A miniature digestible chip that can be attached to conventional medication, sending a signal that confirms whether patients are taking their prescribed pills.
• A wearable device for wirelessly measuring vital signs in hospital rooms.
• A Band-Aid-like sensor that monitors patients on the move by measuring respiration, fluid status and physical movements.
Can these technologies help improve our ailing healthcare system?
Eric Topol, a cardiologist and genomics professor at Scripps Research Institute, believes they can. “Wireless applications have the potential to change every one of these areas,” he said at an industry event in San Diego last week.
I must say I’m surprised some of these ideas are only now being developed. Wirelessly measuring vital signs seems like a no-brainer, as it eliminates the need for “spot checks” and allows for continuous monitoring of various signs such as blood pressure.
The digestible chip, though intended for good use, seems a bit “Big Brother” to me. I take my prescribed pills in the proper dosage, so I don’t know that I will get behind this chip.
What do you think about Silicon Valley’s effort to improve healthcare?
August 4th, 2009
By Cheri
In an interesting article by Kaiser Health News (via MSNBC) health experts raise issue with the widely held belief that by stressing prevention they will lower healthcare costs. Furthermore, these experts also warn that prevention may not help to save lives either.
One area highlighted was cancer screening for breast and cervical cancers. He notes that these tests do not save money in the long run but do help to save lives. Read more at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32275652/ns/health-health_care/
What are your thoughts on preventative care?
August 4th, 2009
