You can’t beat ’em, so join ’em!
You can’t beat ’em, so join ’em!
Here’s how to take control of the Web
Consumers are accessing medical information on the Internet at an alarming rate, and the information explosion has many physicians and case managers frustrated and even angry.
"Roughly 50% of the information on the Internet is unsourced, and about 7% of the medical information on the Internet is just plain wrong. This new ease of access to medical information is both a blessing and a curse. We all appreciate the value of an informed patient, but there is a real downside to this sensory overload of too much unspecified, unsourced, unvalidated, unpersonalized data," says Eve. M. Stern, president of cancerfacts.com in Seattle.
"Patients often enter a physician’s office or challenge their case manager with a stack of information that is invalid, or which doesn’t apply specifically to their circumstances," notes Louise McCleary, MEd, director of health risk management for Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Manchester, NH. "Or, worse still, patients enter the physician’s office with the newest and latest information about their condition, and the physician is threatened by the patient’s knowledge."
"Sixty-seven percent of physicians report that their patients are visiting with information gathered and printed out off the Internet. The physician, who has spent less than seven minutes with the patient, can’t possibly have a meaningful physician-patient interaction under those circumstances. The physician told the patient he needed surgery, and the patient returns for his next office visit with 19 different treatment plans gathered off the Internet."
McCleary and Stern suggest that physicians and case managers direct patients to the most reputable and appropriate Web sites for their individual needs. "I think physicians should keep a list of approved Web sites for certain diagnoses and create handouts for patients. The physician should tell the patient, Here are five Web sites that relate to your condition. Look them over, and let’s talk about what you learned on your next visit.’"
In addition, Anthem is considering other ways to direct patients to more accurate and appropriate medical information on the Web. "I also would love for members to be able to sign into our Web site for asthma information and be linked to asthma-related sites selected as appropriate by a group of local physicians," says McCleary. "We’re also looking at the idea of a personal health diary where patients could have information selected by local providers as appropriate routed to them via e-mail."
The right profile
Cancerfacts.com’s "Cancer Profiler" is a decision support tool to help patients understand their treatment options and alternatives. The tool uses proprietary technology to take data from peer reviewed medical journals and model potential outcomes for the patient.
"The patient enters clinical and demographic information, and the profiler plugs into research studies which the patient would have qualified for and then provides the statistical probability of potential outcomes," explains Stern. "If I’m a 69-year-old male with prostate cancer and I’m told I need a prostatectomy, what are the chances of me becoming incontinent? What are the chances of me becoming impotent? The profiler gives the patient the benefit of all the scientific human experiences available so they can get an objective assessment of their condition and treatment options."
More important, patients do not have to share any personal information to use cancerfacts.com, says Stern. "You have to share clinical data, but no personal data. Patients have the option of deciding whether or not they want to give personal information or to make their information available to researchers conducting clinical trials."
Physicians and case managers cannot possibly keep current with the wealth of information available and still care for patients, notes Stern. "But nurses should make every effort to stay aware of the quality and medical credibility of health Web sites their patients visit. Remember, those Web sites can be a wonderful tool to help health care professionals stay abreast of current studies that relate to a particular patient. If case managers begin using the Internet regularly, they will find they’re able to improve their operating efficiencies and effectiveness."
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