“In case any of you have missed this, the web with the help of “Dr. Google” is a major source of medical information for a broad swath of healthcare consumers in the U.S. Whenever I make this point to clinicians, the response from a few is always: Tisk, tisk. What a shame. There is so much bad stuff out there. To which I usually reply: Uhhh, there’s also a few bad docs. Informed patients can help to weed them out.”
Article
Bruce Friedman, Lab Soft News, 9 October 2008
Tagged: health information and web
; posted on Thursday, October 9th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
No Comments »
“Everyday Health and Revolution Health have announced their merger, creating a consumer health Web site designed to challenge WebMD. The new company will operate under the name Waterfront Media.
There’s no doubt that they will get a lot of consumer traffic to their network of sites. One of the things that remains unclear for both Waterfront and WebMD is to what extent they will serve primarily as reference sources versus playing a greater role in consumers’ own health management. The answer may very well lie in the degree to which they provide information therapy (Ix), not just health information.”
Article
Josh Seidman, PCHIT Blog, 3 October 2008
Tagged: health information, information on prescription, Ix, web and web 2.0
; posted on Friday, October 3rd, 2008 at 8:48 pm
No Comments »
“Privately held online health sites Revolution Health Network and Waterfront Media agreed to merge in a deal that could challenge WebMD Health Corp’s dominance in the health care space.”
Article
eWeek.com, 3 October 2008
Tagged: health information and web
; posted on Friday, October 3rd, 2008 at 8:30 pm
No Comments »
“Doctors who treat themselves may have fools for patients, but they look like geniuses compared with a reporter who tried to diagnose herself via the Internet.
It seemed so simple. I Googled “foot pain,” and up came two sites with neat little pictures of feet, arrows pointing to various parts and instructions to “click where it hurts.” I clicked and voila! both sites said my pain - on the top and side of the foot, around the big toe - was probably from a bunion or gout.”
Article
Denise Grady, Herald Tribune, 30 September 2008
Tagged: health information and internet
; posted on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 at 8:07 pm
No Comments »
“Are patients swimming in a sea of health information? Or are they drowning in it?
The rise of the Internet, along with thousands of health-oriented Web sites, medical blogs and even doctor-based television and radio programs, means that today’s patients have more opportunities than ever to take charge of their medical care. Technological advances have vastly increased doctors’ diagnostic tools and treatments, and have exponentially expanded the amount of information on just about every known disease.”
Article
Tara Parker-Pope, New York Times, 29 September 2008
Tagged: Blog, health information, internet and web
; posted on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 at 9:13 am
No Comments »
“When Terri Nelson learned she had a large fibroid tumor in her uterus, she went online.
There is nothing new in that, of course. The intrepid and the adept were going to the Web for health information as long ago as the 1980s, well before Google and other search engines made it accessible to a wider audience.”
Article
John Schwartz, New York Times, 29 September 2008
Tagged: health information, web and wikipedia
; posted on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 at 8:44 am
No Comments »
“More than half a million Americans suffer from Parkinson’s disease, a brain disorder that leads to tremor and difficulty with walking, movement, and coordination. Although not a normal part of aging, Parkinson’s occurs most often among people 60 and older, and the risk increases with age. Older adults now can visit the NIHSeniorHealth Web site to learn more about Parkinson’s disease at www.nihseniorhealth.gov/parkinsonsdisease/toc.html. The Web site from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is geared toward older adults and features clear language.”
Article
NIHNews, 29 September 2008
Tagged: health information, parkinson and web
; posted on Monday, September 29th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
No Comments »
“I’ve known several doctors who refused to read e-mail from patients. They said it was simply a bad use of their time.
I also used to have a doctor who hated it whenever you came in and asked questions about some article you’d read in The Times about Lyme disease or some such. He’d get a pained look on his face — here we go again; patients pretending to be doctors — and then ignore the question.
But surely it’s in everyone’s best interest for patients to stay informed, right? For patients to do their own research, to ask lots of questions — especially of their own doctors — and so forth, right? Right?”
Article
Stephen J. Dubner, EconTech, 26 September 2008
Tagged: e mail, health information and patient
; posted on Monday, September 29th, 2008 at 9:03 am
No Comments »
“In the 1960s, Pierre Trudeau popularized the phrase “The Just Society” when he took over as the federal minister of justice. Four decades later, we have evolved into “The Informed Society,” where consumers from all types of businesses and industries are playing larger roles in both the purchase and the development of products and services. One has to look no farther than the World Wide Web and the fascinating growth of sites such as YouTube (www.youtube.com) and Facebook (www.facebook.com) for evidence. In healthcare, however, such “grass roots” contributions have been slower to come to the fore, although recently initiatives like Google Health, Microsoft HealthVault and PatientsLikeMe are emerging as alternatives to the status quo. One reason for this latency in healthcare is a lack of familiarity with the system that uses language and jargon that is not accessible to the average consumer. Further, there is a lack of appreciation on behalf of consumers regarding the benefits resulting from the role that empowered patients can play. In addition, there are no “information access” points whereby communication between patients and the system can be affected. Ultimately, patients lack the encouragement, education and means surrounding their potential contribution.”
Abstract
Kevin J. Leonard, David Wiljer and Sara Urowitz, Healthcare Quarterly, 11(4) 2008: 64-68
Tagged: health information and phr
; posted on Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
No Comments »
“Searching for health information online is often said to be one of the most common activities on the Internet. Such sweeping (and only partially accurate) claims are mostly based on survey data, such as the Pew Internet & American Life Report, which found that “80% of adult Internet users, or about 93 million Americans, have searched for at least one of 16 major health topics online.” The report concluded that “this makes the act of looking for health or medical information one of the most popular activities online.” Other surveys from industrialized countries have arrived at similar conclusions. For example, Statistics Canada concluded that between 1999 and 2003 health information was the most prevalent Internet activity each year aside from e-mail and “general browsing,” well ahead of such things as searching for travel information, government information, or electronic banking. Surveys further show that these trends also apply to young people. For example, a recent survey of 1,100 U.S. teens ages 12–17 found that 31 percent reported seeking health information online (representing 6 million people), and that teens’ use of the Internet for this purpose was up 47 percent since 2000. Another survey found that three quarters of youth between the ages of 15 and 24 have used the Internet to get health information.”
Bookchapter
Günther Eysenbach, in: Digital Media, Youth, and Credibility. Edited by Miriam J. Metzger and Andrew J. Flanagin. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2008. 123–154. doi: 10.1162/dmal.9780262562324.123
Tagged: health information, internet and search
; posted on Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 at 8:56 am
No Comments »
“Thousands more kidney patients are to be encouraged to use Renal PatientView, a secure online service that gives them password-protected access to test results and information about their diagnosis and treatment.”
Article
e-Health Insider, 24 September 2008
Tagged: empowerment, health information and platform
; posted on Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 at 7:59 am
No Comments »
“When last week ago I posted my thoughts on what the troubles at Revolution Health signify for “Health 2.o movement” I hoped to initiate a discussion, but did not quite expect to be targeted with personal attacks.
But a serious discussion was certainly started and I am glad that my original post and the ad hominem attack by Matthew Holt unearthed some fundamental issues about the outlook for online health technologies. People should start paying attention to understand what claims they can rely on or not.”
Article
Hippocrates, Trusted.MD, 22 September 2008
Tagged: health 2.0 and health information
; posted on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 at 8:00 am
No Comments »
“The newest edition of Health Affairs includes the story of Michelle Mayer, a patient whose odyssey seems to validate consumer-driven medicine—at least on the surface. But a closer look reveals that Mayer’s tale is no consumerist parable; in fact, it’s a great example of consumer-driven medicine’s shortcomings as a model for health care.”
Article
Niko Karvounis, Health Beat, 22 September 2008
Tagged: clinician patient relationship, consumer, empowerment, health information and patient
; posted on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 at 7:52 am
No Comments »
“Student nurse Chris Chapman got ready to give her next patient his medications Wednesday morning at Parkview Hospital. She logged onto a laptop computer on a rolling cart and checked Jeff Enyeart’s chart for the drugs and dosages he needed.
From the pocket in her scrubs, she pulled out a Palm Pilot and brought up information on the medications in a drug reference guide, one of five nursing textbooks on her PDA.”
Article
Jennifer L. Boen, The News-Sentinel, 18 September 2008
Tagged: barcode, health information, hospitals, medical errors, medication errors, nurses and pda
; posted on Friday, September 19th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
No Comments »
“Why is Steve Case’s online health venture already looking to sell itself, just a year and a half after it launched? Yet another tale of hubris in the e-health sector.”
Article
John Grohol, e-Patients.net, 19 September 2008
Tagged: health information and web
; posted on Friday, September 19th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
No Comments »
“While I have been consistent in criticizing the excessive enthusiasm and hype around so-called “Health 2.0″ movement, I always tried to steer clear of pointing finger at specific companies and individuals.
Why? Because I believe innovators should be encouraged and given benefit of the doubt. Even if their ideas make absolutely no sense. Once in a while even a crazy idea works. On the flip side, once enough hard data is available, ignoring reality can be foolish. Just look at the latest Wall Street meltdown.”
Article
Hippocrates,Trusted MD, 15 September 2008
Tagged: health 2.0 and health information
; posted on Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
No Comments »
“Anyone who has listened to a recent WebMD quarterly results webcast clearly understands where WebMD sees growth. Not too surprisingly, it is not PHRs via customized portal solutions for payers and employers, despite them having over 250 clients including such household names as EMC, IBM, WellPoint and numerous BCBS plans.”
Article
John Moore, Chilmark Research, 15 september 2008
Tagged: health information and web
; posted on Monday, September 15th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
No Comments »
“The Washington Post had a brief article yesterday of a rumor that local Health 2.0 darling, Revolution Health is in merger talks with Everyday Health.
Based upon my cursory review of Everyday Health and knowledge of Revolution Health, these two look like a carbon copy of one another - lots of female targeted ads, simple content on dieting, some social networking/community capabilities and even simpler tools for health management. Thus, such a merger will unlikely result in a 1+1=3 scenario where each brings something unique to the other, but more of a 1+1=1.5, were the value is in the small uptick in number of users/impressions that can then be sold/marketed to advertisers. But even here I see very little value in this merger. One need only do a quick comparison of the demographics of users visiting each site (here, I’ve done it for you: Everyday Health and Revolution Health) to see that there is a huge overlap.”
Article
John Moore, Chilmark Research, 11 September 2008
Tagged: health information and web
; posted on Friday, September 12th, 2008 at 7:52 am
No Comments »
“Revolution Health Network, the online health-care business launched by former AOL chairman Steve Case, is in discussions to merge with Everyday Health, a marriage that would join two of the three most-visited online health information networks.”
Article
Thomas Heath, Washington Post, 10 September 2008
Tagged: health information, health information networks and web
; posted on Thursday, September 11th, 2008 at 7:47 am
No Comments »
“Health information Web sites drew 69 million unique visitors in July, up 21 percent from a year ago.
That’s according to data from Reston, Va.-based comScore. The total U.S. Internet audience has grown by 5 percent over the past year. WebMD Health continues to lead the category with 17 million unique visitors in July, but its growth has slowed to an annual rate of just 3 percent.”
Article
Jeff Clabaugh, Baltimore Business Journal, 9 September 2008
Tagged: health information and web
; posted on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
No Comments »
“Fifty-six percent of American adults surveyed during the first nine months of 2007 sought information on a personal health concern from a source other than their physician, according to survey results recently released.”
Article
Health Data Management, 8 September 2008
Tagged: health information and internet
; posted on Monday, September 8th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
No Comments »
“Health disparities are inequalities in the quality of health and health care across ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups. This article focuses on the health disparities of African Americans and identifies several consumer health Internet resources.”
Abstract
Susan Mongold, Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet, Volume: 12 Issue: 3, 251 - 260, DOI: 10.1080/15398280802143715
Tagged: ethnicity, health information and internet
; posted on Monday, September 8th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
No Comments »
“Web 2.0 functionality is changing the way consumers search for, evaluate, and use health information. What are some of the new “Consumer Health 2.0” sites and their features? How will this trend toward participatory information processing affect traditional sites such as the National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus? How should librarians approach this new paradigm of health information-seeking? This article analyzes the current and potential environment for health information on the Internet and the role of the librarian in that environment.”
Abstract
Susan Mayer, Kay Smith, Gabriel Rios, Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet, Volume: 12 Issue: 3, 187 - 199, DOI: 10.1080/15398280802143566
Tagged: health information, HealthVault and web 2.0
; posted on Monday, September 8th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
No Comments »
“Late last week, Susannah Fox of the Pew Internet & American Life project announced that the nonprofit had updated its statistics on the number of adult Americans using the Internet. Currently, 73 percent are Web users. Of this group, three-quarters have looked for health or medical information online. Fox notes that regardless of whether the number of online health searchers increases or decreases from year to year, “Internet users are doing something [and] the horse is out of the barn”.”
Article
Fard Johnmar, The Health Care Blog, 25 August 2008
Tagged: health information
; posted on Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 at 8:34 am
No Comments »
“In 2007, 56 percent of American adults—more than 122 million people—sought information about a personal health concern, up from 38 percent in 2001, according to a new national study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC). Use of all information sources rose substantially, with the Internet leading the way: Internet information seeking doubled to 32 percent during the six-year period. Consumers across all categories of age, education, income, race/ethnicity and health status increased their information seeking significantly, but education level remained the key factor in explaining how likely people are to seek health information. Although elderly Americans—65 and older—sharply increased their information seeking, they still trail younger Americans by a substantial margin, especially in using Internet information sources. Consumers who actively researched health concerns widely reported positive impacts: More than half said the information changed their overall approach to maintaining their health, and four in five said that the information helped them to better understand how to treat an illness or condition.”
Report
Ha T. Tu, Genna Cohen, Health System Change, August 2008
Tagged: health information and internet
; posted on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 8:39 am
No Comments »
“Weblogs (blogs), together with podcasts and wikis are part of the larger body of next-generation communication applications dubbed “web 2.0.” Within the specific area of health care, little attention has been devoted to understanding what applications are available to the lay public and how these are being used. In this study, a literature review on blogs and blogging practices was conducted, followed by case study analyses of two separate sites that use blogging tools to help patients and other lay web end-users record health-related experiences. This paper explores the diverse purposes for which blogging applications can be (or are being) used in relation to health and introduces the idea of “health goal-oriented” blogging. The discussion focuses on relevant informatics questions that arise with respect to the use of blogs and makes suggestions for subsequent research.”
Abstract
Samantha A. Adams, International Journal of Medical Informatics, doi:10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2008.06.009
Tagged: Blog, health information and web 2.0
; posted on Thursday, August 21st, 2008 at 10:37 am
No Comments »
“This prospective questionnaire study investigated access to the Internet and use of the Internet for health related information. Patients attending the senior author’s ENT clinic (204 in 2000; 209 in 2006) were asked two questions: do you have access to the Internet? Have you used the Internet to find health related information? Access to the Internet rose from 43 per cent (88) in 2000 to 70 per cent (147) in 2006, a significant increase (p < 0.001). The Internet was used for health related information by only 32 patients (16%) in 2000 but by 114 (55%) in 2006, a dramatic and significant increase (p < 0.001). Clearly patients and their families are increasingly using the Internet to access and seek health information. Clinicians cannot overlook this aspect of health provision when seeking to facilitate the transmission of information to their patients."
Abstract
Matthew I. Trotter, David W. Morgan, Health Informatics Journal, Vol. 14, No. 3, 175-181 (2008), DOI: 10.1177/1081180X08092828
Tagged: health information and internet
; posted on Thursday, August 21st, 2008 at 10:30 am
No Comments »
“Adam Bosworth made quite a name for himself in the healthcare space while he was leader of the Google Health initiative. All got quite strange, however, when while on vacation late last summer, Bosworth decided not to return to Google Health. And while Bosworth went into stealth mode to develop Keas, Google chose not to replace him (a mistake) and Google Health fell under the tutelage of Marissa Mayer.”
Article
John Moore, Chilmark Research, 18 August 2008
Tagged: adoption, Google Health, health information, HealthVault and privacy
; posted on Tuesday, August 19th, 2008 at 9:43 am
No Comments »
“I tend not to get too exercised about privacy issues regarding personal health records, in part because the horse is already out of the barn. This point was made abundantly clear in a recent article (see: “Health 2.0? vs. Health Insurers: The Looming Clash).”
Article
Bruce Friedman, Lab Soft News, 12 august 2008
Tagged: health information, phr and privacy
; posted on Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 at 7:37 am
No Comments »
“It is good to see HISA is being pro-active in this complex and difficult area. We need much more thought given to all this – unmediated in my view – from the pressure applied by entities like NEHTA to have their previews prevail. Real public consultation is what is needed here to have e-Health succeed.”
Article
David More, Australian Health Information technology, 12 August 2008
Tagged: health information, Health Information Technology and privacy
; posted on Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 at 7:31 am
No Comments »
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