ENTtoday
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • Practice Focus
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Departments
    • Issue Archive
    • TRIO Best Practices
      • Allergy
      • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
      • Head and Neck
      • Laryngology
      • Otology/Neurotology
      • Pediatric
      • Rhinology
      • Sleep Medicine
    • Career Development
    • Case of the Month
    • Everyday Ethics
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Medical Education
    • Online Exclusives
    • Practice Management
    • Resident Focus
    • Rx: Wellness
    • Special Reports
    • Tech Talk
    • Viewpoint
    • What’s Your O.R. Playlist?
  • Literature Reviews
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Events
    • Featured Events
    • TRIO Meetings
  • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Triological Society
    • Advertising Staff
    • Subscribe
  • Advertise
    • Place an Ad
    • Classifieds
    • Rate Card
  • Search

Patient Education Reinvented in the Digital Age

by Rodney Lusk, MD • September 1, 2013

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version

You Might Also Like

No related posts.

Explore This Issue
September 2013
David Meltzer, MD, PhD, FHM “Information posted online [can lead] parents to a diagnosis and enable them to find a group of physicians capable of treating their child.”

With technology come both risks and rewards. The Internet and social media provide countless new opportunities to educate patients and improve health care but pose significant liability threats for individual clinicians and the health care profession as a whole if they are misused. Without a doubt, authoritative health information and social media sites dedicated to serving the specific needs of patients can be of significant benefit. I refer to my own experience as a vivid example.

Through a colleague in another specialty, I evaluate an unusually large number of patients with symptoms of pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAs). In my assessment of their history, I find that nearly every one of the parents has arrived at the diagnosis after searching online for information about sudden onset behavioral problems in their child and has stumbled across PANDAs or pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome. This discovery then leads them to social networking sites, where they find stories similar to their own. That information, in turn, leads them to lists of physicians who know about PANDAs, and other parents’ experiences with the physicians. More often than not, when parents bring these findings to their primary care physicians they get a blank stare and an admission that the physician knows nothing about the disease. The thing I find so fascinating is that information posted online led these parents to the diagnosis and enabled them to find a group of physicians capable of and interested in treating their children.

Authoritative Information

This experience has really solidified for me the importance of the development of authoritative websites by academies, physicians and other health care providers who are dedicated to diagnosing and treating specific diseases or syndromes. These sites provide an invaluable service to our patients. A 2011 Pew study found that 80 percent of Internet users look for health-related data. This number reinforces the need to provide factual and easily understood information online for our patients. It is easy, however, to fall into the trap of giving advice to parents or patients without first establishing a patient-physician relationship. Clinicians who blog increase their liability risk if they do not adhere strictly to guidelines that govern professional interactions via social media and electronic information systems.

Recent guidelines have been published by the American College of Physicians (Ann Intern Med. 2013;158:620-627). The document outlines behavior for social media, as well as any form of electronic information. In today’s digital world, health care information is difficult to keep confidential. Once it is “out there” it cannot be retrieved, and the damage caused by releasing the information may be ongoing for the patient and clinician. As health care providers, we are held to a very high standard by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which is continually being upgraded and revised. This law has teeth, and if the standards are violated, clinicians can be fined, go to prison and/or lose their license to practice medicine.

E-Mail Etiquette

Now, let’s talk about e-mail for a moment. E-mail can supplement, but should not replace, a face-to-face encounter. With established patients, some types of information sent via e-mail can significantly improve efficiency, communication and patient satisfaction. There is certain information that is factual, difficult to misinterpret and conveniently delivered through an e-mail. One must use discretion, however, with regard to specific patients and content; it goes without saying that it is probably not a good idea to deliver the diagnosis of cancer to a patient through an e-mail.

Pages: 1 2 | Single Page

Filed Under: Departments, Tech Talk Tagged With: diagnosis, health technology, patient education, social mediaIssue: September 2013

You Might Also Like:

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

The Laryngoscope
Ensure you have all the latest research at your fingertips; Subscribe to The Laryngoscope today!

Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
Open access journal in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery is currently accepting submissions.

Classifieds

View the classified ads »

TRIO Best Practices

View the TRIO Best Practices »

Top Articles for Residents

  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Why More MDs, Medical Residents Are Choosing to Pursue Additional Academic Degrees
  • What Physicians Need to Know about Investing Before Hiring a Financial Advisor
  • Tips to Help You Regain Your Sense of Self
  • Should USMLE Step 1 Change from Numeric Score to Pass/Fail?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Some Studies Predict a Shortage of Otolaryngologists. Do the Numbers Support Them?
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • Complications for When Physicians Change a Maiden Name
    • Neurogenic Cough Is Often a Diagnosis of Exclusion
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • New Developments in the Management of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Eustachian Tuboplasty: A Potential New Option for Chronic Tube Dysfunction and Patulous Disease
    • ENTtoday Editor-In-Chief Search
    • Tympanoplasty Tips: Otology Experts Give Advice on the Procedure
    • How Treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) Is Evolving to Give Patients a Better Night’s Sleep
    • Vestibular Schwannoma Position Relative to Internal Auditory Canal Helps Predict Postoperative Facial Function
    • Vocal Fold Lipoaugmentation Provides Long-Term Voice Improvements for Glottal Insufficiency

Polls

Do you think there will be a shortage of otolaryngologists in the next five to 10 years?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Visit: The Triological Society • The Laryngoscope • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology

Wiley
© 2022 The Triological Society. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN 1559-4939

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.