January 15th, 2011 by DrWes in Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: Anonymity, CBS News, Cybersecurity, Department of Homeland Security, Doctors and Patients Online, Dr. Wes Fisher, Gary Locke, Government Control, Government-run Healthcare, Healthcare and the Internet, Healthcare Law, Healthcare Politics, Healthcare reform, HIPAA, Howard Schmidt, Identity Ecosystem, Internet ID, Internet-Based Medicine, medicaid, Medicare, National Security Agency, National Strategy for Trusted Indentities in Cyberspace, Online Healthcare, Patient Privacy, Pseudonymity, U.S. Commerce Department, Web-Based Healthcare
No Comments »
From CBS News:
President Obama is planning to hand the U.S. Commerce Department authority over a forthcoming cybersecurity effort to create an Internet ID for Americans, a White House official said here today.
It’s “the absolute perfect spot in the U.S. government” to centralize efforts toward creating an “identity ecosystem” for the Internet, White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt said.
That news, first reported by CNET, effectively pushes the department to the forefront of the issue, beating out other potential candidates including the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. The move also is likely to please privacy and civil liberties groups that have raised concerns in the past over the dual roles of police and intelligence agencies.
No, they’re not talking about a national ID card, just an international internet ID. The announcement came at an event today at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, where U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Schmidt spoke. The Obama administration is currently drafting what it’s calling the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, which Locke said will be released by the president in the next few months. (An early version was publicly released last summer.)
“We are not talking about a national ID card,” Locke said at the Stanford event. “We are not talking about a government-controlled system. What we are talking about is enhancing online security and privacy and reducing and perhaps even eliminating the need to memorize a dozen passwords, through creation and use of more trusted digital identities.”
Imagine: Anyone registered with such a cyber-ID who conferences with their doctor via a “secure server” can also be tracked by the government with such a mechanism. And the issue of not needing more than one password? While convenient, the ramifications of multiple accounts being compromised if a data leak were to occur remains with such a mechanism. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
January 15th, 2011 by Iltifat Husain, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: Cellphones and Healthcare, Developing Countries, Global Health, iMedicalApps, International Health, James BonTempo, Jhpiego, Johns Hopkins University, Medical Technology, Medicine and Smartphones, mHealth Summit, Mobile Phones and Medicine
No Comments »
The potential of mobile phones to improve health is most acutely visible in developing countries. iMedicalApps covered the recent mHealth Summit, where there were many inspiring demonstrations of how voice and simple text messages can have a profound effect on the health of those countries’ citizens. Jhpiego has successfully worked on these problems for three decades and was recently awarded a $100m grant. James Bon Tempo has extensive experience in this field and we are thrilled that he is sharing his insights with the readers of iMedicalApps.
This is a guest post from James BonTempo.
**********
Mobile Health In Developing Countries
I am a user and an implementer of technology, not an inventor or developer, so my constraints, challenges and requirements are different than those of many attendees of the recent mHealth Summit. And for others like me who work in international aid and development, mobile technology is simply a tool, and one of many in a large toolbox that includes various best practices and proven approaches. At Jhpiego (an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University), we have piloted a number of different mobile interventions — from simple SMS to Java & smartphone-based applications — but the challenge for us is to identify the most appropriate technologies, the tools that will help us to strengthen health systems in limited resource settings most effectively and most efficiently. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at iMedicalApps*
January 15th, 2011 by Lucy Hornstein, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: Anti-Vaccine Movement, Children's Health, Children's Vaccinations, Dr. Lucy Hornstein, Dr. Paul Offit, Family Medicine, Flu Shot, Flu Vaccine, immunizations, Immunology, Musings of a Dinosaur, Parent Preferences, Parents' Decisions, Pediatrics, Primary Care, Vaccine Complacency, Vaccine Controversy, Vaccine-Averse Parents
No Comments »
I got a package in the mail today: My very own (complimentary) copy of Paul Offit’s new book, “Deadly Choices; How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All.” Needless to say, I can’t wait to read it. Not coincidentally, Dr. Offit has been making the rounds of interviews in the wake of the book’s release. Although I haven’t heard any of them directly, I did see a reference to this NPR interview on the FaceBook page of an old friend, who quoted from it thusly:
IRA FLATOW: You write that some pediatricians will not see kids who are not vaccinated. Is that a good solution to the problem?
DR. PAUL OFFIT: I don’t know what’s a good solution to that problem. And I feel tremendous sympathy for the clinician who’s in private practice. On the one hand, and my wife sort of expressed this, she’s a general practitioner, a pediatrician, you know, she’ll say, you know, parents will come into her office and say I don’t want to get vaccines, including, for example, the Haemophilus influenzae vaccine, which is vaccine that prevents what was, at one point, a very common cause of bacterial meningitis.
And, you know, we’ve had three cases or three deaths, actually, from this particular bacterial form of meningitis in the Philadelphia area just in the last couple years.
And, you know, to her, it’s like, you know, let me love your child. Please don’t put me in a position where I have to practice substandard care, which can result in harm, which can hurt your child. Please don’t ask me to do that.
And I certainly understand the sentiment. On the other hand, if you don’t see that child, you know, where does that child go? Do they go to a chiropractor who doesn’t vaccinate?
I think it’s hard because then you lose any chance to really immunize the child.
My friend then offers his take, that of a pediatrician in private practice. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Dinosaur*
January 14th, 2011 by Elaine Schattner, M.D. in Opinion
Tags: Doctor Patient Relationship, Dr. Elaine Schattner, General Medicine, Healthcare Consumer, Healthcare Customer, Healthcare Language, Healthcare Receiver, Humanity, Integrity, Medical Ethics, Medical Lessons, Medical Terminology, Patient, Patient Needs, Patient-Physician Relationship, Person Who Receives Healthcare, Physician Responsibility, Trisha Torrey
No Comments »
An online friend, colleague, and outspoken patient advocate, Trisha Torrey, has an ongoing e-vote about whether people prefer to be called a “patient,” a “consumer,” a “customer,” or some other noun to describe a person who receives healthcare.
My vote is: PATIENT. Here’s why:
Providing medical care is or should be unlike other commercial transactions. The doctor, or other person who gives medical treatment, has a special professional and moral obligation to help the person who’s receiving his or her treatment. This responsibility — to heal, honestly and to the best of one’s ability — overrides any other commitments, or conflicts, between the two. The term “patient” constantly reminds the doctor of the specialness of the relationship. If a person with illness or medical need became a consumer like any other, the relationship — and the doctor’s obligation — would be lessened.
Some might argue that the term “patient” somehow demeans the healthcare receiver. But I don’t agree: From the practicing physician’s perspective, it’s a privilege to have someone trust you with their health, especially if they’re seriously ill. In this context, the term “patient” can reflect a physician’s respect for the person’s integrity, humanity and needs.
*This blog post was originally published at Medical Lessons*
January 12th, 2011 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: 33 Charts, Beyond Spoken Language, Doctor Patient Relationship, Doctor-Patient Communication, Doctor-Patient Connection, Doctor-Patient Experience, Dr. Bryan Vartabedian, General Medicine, Language Barrier, Language Gap, Language Translation, Non-English-Speaking Patients
1 Comment »
I can’t say that I enjoy the patient encounter as much when it involves a translator. There’s just something about communicating through a third party that changes the experience. But there are some things you can do as a provider to bridge the language gap:
Look. Even thought the translator is doing the talking, look at the patient just as if you are asking the question yourself. There’s a tendency to let the translator act as a surrogate with respect to eye contact and visual feedback.
Smile. A smile doesn’t need translation. It conveys very clearly that have a sincere interest in making a connection.
Touch. I never leave the exam room without some type of sincere physical contact. A firm handshake or a hand on the shoulder go a long way in closing the language barrier.
Say something funny. Patients don’t expect jokes to come through a translator. And there’s nothing better than watching a silly, lighthearted remark make its way into another language. It’s powerful and fun.
It’s important to think about how we can recreate the elements of a one-on-one dialog. What do you do to make a connection beyond spoken language?
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
