Our Blog: where do you stand?

Tips and Tools to be the Best, Most Informed Patient

By: Beth Doriani | 02/08/2012

We are now fully ingrained in the digital age, and the health care industry has not escaped unscathed. When we need information about our health (or lack thereof), as with anything else, the first place we turn for answers is the computer. Given this new milieu, we must be aware of the tools now available to patients and how to use this new knowledge in ways that will help, not hinder, our health.

Medicine is Social

• Support for patients, and their family members, is essential in coping with a diagnosis or chronic disease. Now, thanks to social media's pervasive influence, patients are turning to online groups to capitalize on the expertise and encouragement of others going through a similar experience. ThePatientForum.com, for example, offers patients an open forum to discuss their health and health-related topics with each other.
• Similarly, the FDA recently released a 15-page document roughly outlining how pharmaceutical companies are allowed to interact with patients via social media. They may reply to questions and comments to ensure accurate information is being disseminated by a credible source. They may not, however, offer new uses for existent drugs, as that would violate the law.

Doctors Become Irrelevant, Or Do They?

Your eyes are red and itchy. After googling your symptoms, you have one of two choices. 1) Sigh, you have allergies. 2) Panic, you have conjunctivitis (commonly known as pink eye). Although finding medical information on the web is easy, self-diagnosis is not quite so simple. Furthermore, it does not eliminate the need for a doctor and may cause an awkward encounter when you do finally make that visit. But there are certainly pros and cons to using medical websites for self-diagnosis. For example, realizing your symptoms are common place and not serious can be reassuring (a pro). However, misdiagnosis is common, if not probable, when using a simple database to match symptoms to a condition (a con).

Whether you choose to use medical websites for information gathering is up to you. Whatever you decide, please make sure all diagnostic advice comes from a credible source.

The Process Gets Streamlined

Ever had to wait eight hours in the emergency room for some simple stitches? Hospitals know the pitfall of most ER's is the long wait for patients with minor injuries. To combat the long delay, follow these tactics:

• First, determine if you truly do need to rush to the ER. This article outlines preventative steps as well as alternatives if you are able to hold out. For example, consider visiting an urgent care center.
• If you still need to go to the ER but you don't need immediate attention, wait in the comfort of home. Thanks to new reservation systems, you can schedule an appointment and arrive when the ER is ready to take you.

Obviously, it's better to remain healthy and out of the ER altogether. But that is unlikely, especially during flu season. No matter what the occasion, know the tools available to you as a patient - online or off. Knowledge can make the process of getting care a bit smoother. 

Posted in Health Care