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Health Care Tagging
I'm an individual contributor to Google Health Co-op and work on the non-profit Palo Alto Medical Foundation's tagging efforts @ Google Health Co-op as well. I'd be happy to speak regarding how tagging is improving health search on Google.
http://www.enochchoi.com/thoughts/archives/002164.html
http://www.google.com/coop/profile?user=000834671960008790965
http://www.google.com/coop/profile?user=001677525886229228418
Enoch Choi, MD
- enochchoi's blog
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Health Care Technology Chat @ NetSquared Remote Conference 5/31/
http://www.netsquared.org/remote
is where we'll be chatting about the issues you've been commenting about here, on Wedn May 31, Noon.
http://www.enochchoi.com/thoughts/archives/002180.html is copied below:
"Tech Tools in Medicine: Personal Health Records, Mobile Devices, Blogging,
Podcasting, Health Search & Tagging @ Google Co-op"
NetSquared earlier videoblogged me about using OQO ultraportables and WWAN to access the 1MM Katrina evacuees' prescription records at KatrinaHealth.org
I unfortunately was unavailable to lead a "Making it Happen" discussion in meatspace at the conference, and I suspect virtual participation will be more enthusiastic anyways, judging from the more than dozen comments at my offer.
I'm an individual contributor to Google Health Co-op and assist my clinic, the non-profit Palo Alto Medical Foundation's tagging efforts @ Google Health Co-op as well. The purpose of tagging is improving health search on Google.
more details at http://www.enochchoi.com/thoughts/archives/002164.html
my Co-op profile: http://www.google.com/coop/profile?user=000834671960008790965
PAMF's profile: http://www.google.com/coop/profile?user=001677525886229228418
My annotations have been accepted into Google Co-op's directory by virtue of the criteria listed in their documentation. That means that when you do a Google search on a health term, you will get my labels annotating URLs that show up in your results.
What do you get by subscribing to PAMF's profile? You will get the combined annotations of many physicians at PAMF who submitted the sites they think are authoratative. Without subscribing, they won't show up in your search results. You can always unsubscribe from PAMF's, but since mine are now incorporated into the directory I'm not unsubscribable. Similarly unsubscribable are Harvard, UCSF, Kaiser, NIH, CDC, and HON. Kinda heady to be compatriots of that gang ;)
Although I've been most excited about Google Co-op recently, I'm happy to chat about other topics I'm very involved in:
Personal Health Records: my patients participate in eVisits, virtual clinic visits, via a secure portal PAMFonline which allows them to review records, request rx's and referrals and read trusted health content. It allows me to do anything i can do at the bedside other than the physical exam.
Emergency Preparedness: with recent memories of Katrina & the ensuing health disaster, I've been applying technologies to support medical relief efforts: mobile devices, community & church networking, CERT, DMAT
Blogging: My 3 years of medblogging has offered me the opportunity to join in on discussions within an active online community of health professionals and those that recieve their care. It's a way of bridging the gap of knowledge in a respectful and supportive environment. On June 24-25 we'll have a medblogger meetup in meatspace in SF, CA during Bloggercon IV where I'll be a discussion leader.
Podcasting: The AMA recently interviewed me on how podcasting helped me recertify for my Family Medicine boards, and I've been involved with PAMFs podcasting which reaches our 1MM covered patients in the SF Bay area via a new medium.
Any and all of these topics are ripe for discussion next Wednesday, come and join in!
We'll have two opportunities to talk web 2.0 and health
Commenter Judith Feder has also agreed to host a remote session. It will be up on the schedule in the next hour or so.
Marnie Webb
Net2 team
Anyone interested in facilitating a Making It Happen session?
Judging by the comments, there's lots of energy for this topic. Anyone interested in facilitating a Making It Happen Project Spring on health care tagging or some other aspect of health care use of web 2.0 tools? Unfortunately, Enoch isn't available on Wednesday. If you are interested, just drop a comment in this thread or send me an email at: webb@compumentor.org.
Marnie Webb
Net2 team
Making it happen
Marnie - I'd certainly be interested in participating.
health care tagging and online patient communities
Hi, this is a bit of a branch off of Enoch Choi's offer. I'm wondering if anyone is doing anywork with online patient communities and Web 2.0 capabilities, including tagging. I've been an active member of a community since a cancer diagnosis 4 years ago, and I think there is huge potential, particularly in communities of people managing chronic conditions.
Blogs and Wikis for Healthcare and Patients
This topic is very interesting. I think web 2.0 tools will make a difference in healthcare and patients communicating with each other on the web. I have already found a few patient blogs and a few health related wikis.
Blogs and wikis for patients
Yes, they are out there, although an interesting report from Envision Solutions, The Emerging Healthcare Blogosphere, points out that healthcare lags behind a lot of other "markets" in use of Web 2.0. I've looked at a lot of patient communities, and find most of them are pretty basic list.servs. I think there's a ton more that could be done, both to enhance the experience for patients, and to enable them to contribute to the body of knowledge about their disease.
Blogs and wikis for patients
Yes, there are quite a few blogs out there, and some wikis, as you point out, although a recent report by Envision Solutions, "The Emerging Healthcare Blogosphere," points out that healthcare lags behind a lot of other industries/markets/areas of interest in terms of blogging. I also find that online patient communities tend to be pretty primitive -- often basic list.servs, and I think there is much more that could be done with that.
ONLINE PATIENT COMMUNITIES
Hi, I work at a cancer center and have been trying, so far without luck, to set up online communities. I'd also be very interested to know what others are doing -- it may help me convince the powers that be here how successful and helpful it could be. thanks for bring this up! toni
Online patient communities
Toni, what's been your roadblock? Funding? Lack of patient interest? There are tons of online patient communities out there, although, as I say in a previous reply, most are pretty primitive. There's also a lot of evidence that they have therapeutic value. I have a lot of ideas on using Web 2.0 to build robust patient communities -- would be very interested in connecting with you on this, if you'd like.
ONLINE PATIENT COMMUNITIES
Actually, the biggest roadblock is the institution itself -- huge concerns about liability, image, disclosure of patient information, etc. What is frustrating is that I know we are not liable for other people's content if we use disclaimers. Our image shouldn't be hurt if someone says something negative about us. But I haven't been able to convince the executives that I'm not destroying the organization (argh). If you, or anyone else, has hard data about the therapeutic value and image boosting online communities can foster, please let me know. It may help me convince them.
Therapeutic value of online patient communities
Toni, these are only a few of the articles published on this topic by Bret Shaw, the guy I've been speaking to at U of Wisconsin:
“Doctor-patient relationship as motivation and outcome: Examining uses of an interactive cancer communication system.” Shaw, B., Han, J.Y., Hawkins, R.P., Stewart, J., McTavish, F. & Gustafson, D. International Journal of Medical Informatics, in press.
“Effects of insightful disclosure within computer mediated support groups on women with breast cancer.” Shaw, B., Hawkins, R.P, McTavish, F., Pingree, S. & Gustafson, D. Health Communication, 19, 133-142, 2006.
“An exploratory study of predictors of participation in a computer support group for women with breast cancer.” Shaw, B., Hawkins, R., Arora, N., McTavish, F., Pingree, S. & Gustafson, D. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 24, 18-27, 2006.
“How underserved breast cancer patients use and benefit from eHealth programs: Implications for closing the digital divide.” Shaw, B., Gustafson, D., Hawkins, R., McTavish, F., McDowell, H., Pingree, S. & Ballard, D. American Behavioral Scientist, 49, 823-834, 2006.
“Use and impact of eHealth system by low-income women with breast cancer.” Gustafson, D.H., McTavish, F.M., Stengle, W., Ballard, D., Hawkins, R., Shaw, B., Jones, E., Julesberg, K., McDowell, H., Chen, W.C., Volrathongchai, K. & Landucci, G. Journal of Health Communication, 10, 195-218, 2005.
“Experiences of women with breast cancer: Exchanging social support over the CHESS computer network.” Shaw, B., McTavish, F., Hawkins, R.P., Gustafson, D. & Pingree, S. Journal of Health Communication, 5(2):135-149, 2000.In addition, I'd direct your attention to a recent editorial in the British Medical Journal,
Are virtual communities good for our health? BMJ 2006;332:925-926 (22 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7547.925
Health Disparities
Enoch,
Sorry if this is a bit off-topic, but you are the only direct contact to Google Health I've come across.
When I looked at Google Health for the first time, and as I clicked through to different diretories, I was struck by the fact that there is no directory for Health Disparities. Is there a particular reason for this?
new volunteering non-profit organization in HealthCare
HealthCare Volunteer is a non-profit helping any one find a volunteering opportunity in health care. It is really neat and a couple months back, I found an international volunteering opportunity to help deliver medical supplies to local hospitals from donors from the USA.
They are growing the number of volunteering opportunities really fast. When I first used the site 2 months ago i think there were only about 200 or 300 organizations. . .
<br />
http://www.healthcarevolunteer.com
<br />
good luck all
john
checkt out http://www.healthcarevolunteer.com