I’ve been using Twitter over the last few months, and I find the technology has tremendous potential. It offers instant feedback from a variety of like-minded people, and I’ve mined more than a few links from the site.
Ted Eytan wonders if private Twitter networks can facilitate physician-patient communication.
It would be a boon for patients to receive instant physician feedback rather than waiting for an e-mail, let alone scheduling an appointment.
Whether doctors adopt microblogging technology is another matter altogether. Let’s get them to e-mail patients first.
Related posts:
- How Twitter can strengthen the doctor-patient relationship
- Doctors using Twitter at medical conferences
- Doctors and Twitter
- Physician-patient social networking
- Tips for doctors who use Twitter
- How much would you pay to e-mail your doctor?
- CNN recommends following @KevinMD on Twitter
KevinMD.com on Facebook
{ 3 comments }
Are private twitter networks potentially HIPAA compliant? What if someone gained access and told the patient s/he hasn’t long to live?
Most of the physicians i know fear even email comms because they already feel tied to and hampered by computer communication intra-clinically.
And – here’s where it’s most important – how will they BILL for it?
Ted loves technology but he also works in a system (Kaiser and GHC) that already have EMR’s with consumer access as well as email when most of the country doesn’t provide either.
I get both my email and my text messages right on my phone so don’t see the need to create yet another network? What makes more sense is the ability to get personalized standard of care data at the point of service and customized clinical alerts (easy to configure by patient).
IE someone with diabetes goes into any doctor (say for example their GYN doc) the system checks to see if I have had an A1C test at the appropriate interval but the real goal is to provide care in the community (ie at home).
One recent study in the November issue of The American Journal of Managed Care (by a vendor) showed that sending clinical alerts to both provider and patients has increased “compliance” (I don’t like that word but am having a brain fog on the new term)
“According to the study, sending Care Considerations to patients increased compliance by 12.5 percent, while alerts recommending screening, diagnostic and monitoring tests boosted compliance by 26.4 percent. “
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=10393
Sherry Reynolds
Alliance4Health
Having spent a few days as a spectator on an ER ward and questioned consultants and registrars on their use of computers I am surprised by how uncomfortable they are with using computer technology. However if they see it as a benefit in that it saves time and is easy to use I wonder if they might change their way of working. I also have found twitter to be a mine of information from people whose opinion I respect. If patient care can be improved as per Sherry Reynolds comments above, then what an excellent outcome that would be.
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