Using Hospital Web Sites to Enhance Communication

Author(s):  
Sherrie D. Cannoy ◽  
Lakshmi Iyer

A large number of patients currently utilize the Internet to access healthcare-related information (Tobin, 2002). Many physician and health-related Web sites have been information portals lacking interactive services that could benefit healthcare partners through decreased costs, increased convenience, and communication. Patients typically visit Web portals to learn more about medical topics, often discussing this information with physicians. Emerging Internet technologies can be a strategic asset for hospitals to impact physician bonding, patient self-service, and overall enterprise performance efforts. We conducted an investigation of Web sites of 10 hospitals listed in U.S. News and World Report’s Best Hospitals of 2004 Honor Roll, as well as a random selection of seven other hospital sites. An examination of each hospital’s site was performed to determine what features were provided to enhance communication between the partners in healthcare. Partners are defined as patients and their families, referring physicians, insurance companies, vendors, pharmacies, job seekers, and the media. Communication-enhancing features are any features that have the potential to increase communication between the hospital and its partners. We focused on patient communication-enhancing features, since patients are the primary partners of healthcare entities.

2011 ◽  
pp. 1485-1494
Author(s):  
Sherrie D. Cannoy

A large number of patients currently utilize the Internet to access healthcare-related information (Tobin, 2002). Many physician and health-related Web sites have been information portals lacking interactive services that could benefit healthcare partners through decreased costs, increased convenience, and communication. Patients typically visit Web portals to learn more about medical topics, often discussing this information with physicians. Emerging Internet technologies can be a strategic asset for hospitals to impact physician bonding, patient self-service, and overall enterprise performance efforts. We conducted an investigation of Web sites of 10 hospitals listed in U.S. News and World Report’s Best Hospitals of 2004 Honor Roll, as well as a random selection of seven other hospital sites. An examination of each hospital’s site was performed to determine what features were provided to enhance communication between the partners in healthcare. Partners are defined as patients and their families, referring physicians, insurance companies, vendors, pharmacies, job seekers, and the media. Communication-enhancing features are any features that have the potential to increase communication between the hospital and its partners. We focused on patient communication-enhancing features, since patients are the primary partners of healthcare entities.


Author(s):  
Shruti Kohli ◽  
Sonia Saini

Recent work in machine learning and natural language processing has studied the content of health related information in tweets and demonstrated the potential for extracting useful public health information from their aggregation. Social intelligence derived from health content has become of significant importance for various applications, including post-marketing drug surveillance, competitive intelligence, medicine reviews and to assess health-related opinions and sentiments. Further, the quantity of medical information in the media such as tweets on Twitter, Facebook or medical blogs is growing at an exponential rate. Medical data such as health records, drug data, etc. has become major candidates for Big Data analysis and thus exploring this content has become a necessity for organizations. However, the volume, velocity, variety, and quality of online health information present challenges, necessitating enhanced facilitation mechanisms for medical social computing. The objective of this chapter is to discuss the possibility of mining medical trends using Social Networks.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 118-125
Author(s):  
Andrea Kozai ◽  
Jatin P. Ambegaonkar

Dancers have unique health issues, including high injury rates and functional, nutritional, and psychological concerns. Thererfore, developing dancers with high health literacy is crucial. This study examines 1. the types of health-related information offered in university dance programs, and 2. the perceptions of dance stakeholders (administrators, faculty, and students) toward health-related education provided to dancers in these programs. Participating stakeholders (N = 104) from 11 countries completed a web-based survey examining health-related offerings for dance students at their instituitions. Eighty-four participants (81%) indicated that health-related information was delivered at their instituition. The most commonly offered topics included functional dance anatomy (N = 82, 98%), recognizing dance injuries and illnesses (N = 66, 79%), and strength and conditioning for dancers (N = 61, 73%). Participants rated recognizing dance injuries and illnesses (N = 72, 69%), basic personal health (N = 70, 67%), and nutrition (N = 68, 65%) as the top three "extremely important" topics, even if these were not offered at their institution. Faculty and administrators reported similar attitudes toward topic importance as those reported by students. Fifty-five respondents (65%) reported textbooks were used to deliver health-related information, and content was also provided via journal articles (N = 58, 69%), organizational web sites (N = 39, 46%), and social media (N = 16, 19%). Reported barriers to providing adequate education included lack of dance faculty expertise to deliver course content (N = 7) and receiving care from practitioners lacking in knowledge of dance medicine (N = 5). Participants generally agreed that making health-related information available was important, and 81% of respondants indicated that it was formally offered at their institution. Variability was noted regarding topics rated "highly important," as compared to which topics were already provided. These findings offer insight into the current status of health-related education provided to dance students and can be used to improve curricula in university dance programs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A351-A352
Author(s):  
Reisa Gilfix ◽  
Jack Elstein ◽  
Eleanor Elstein

Abstract Influenza vaccination (fluv) is free and easily accessible to diabetics in Quebec. The importance of vaccination (v) during the Covid19 (CV19) pandemic has been widely discussed in the media. To ascertain the receptiveness of type 2 diabetics (T2D) to fluv during the CV19 pandemic and their acceptance of an eventual CV19 vaccine (CVv) we carried out telephone interviews with 34 unselected T2D pts in Montreal, Quebec post the 1st wave of CV19 in that region. Pts were asked if they planned taking the fluv and/or an eventual CVv, reasons for reticence to v, and attitudes toward and compliance with public health (PH) directives. They were also asked their primary source of health related information. Recent HbA1c and insulin use were recorded. Thirty four T2Ds were surveyed, 22 M 50–87 yrs (mean 69.2) and 12 F 49–84 yrs (mean 68.8). Eleven M and 5 F were on insulin. HbA1c ranged from 5.9–13.0 (mean 7.3). None of the pts had recently discussed v with a healthcare provider (HCP). One pt received his health related information from Facebook, the others from mainstream media. None had contraindications to v. None had been diagnosed with CV19. Past influenza history was unknown. Forty one percent (14/34) of pts, 11 M 50–86 yrs (mean 66.0) and 3 F 49–66 yrs (mean 59.0) did not plan to take the fluv. They explained their decisions as never having taken fluv (12 pts) or having been ill despite having taken it (2 pts). Neither accessibility nor cost were issues. Two F, 62 and 66 yrs, who refused fluv also refused CVv. Six M aged 60–86 yrs (mean 70.5) and 1 F aged 73 yrs were planning to wait to access real life safety (6pts) or efficacy (1pt) data before accepting CVv. All pts claimed to be following PH guidelines including social distancing, hand washing, and mask recommendations; 91.2% (31/34) fully agreed with PH policies, 2 were in moderate agreement and 1 thought PH policy was not strict enough. Of the latter 3 pts none planned on taking the fluv. One planned taking the CVv, 1 planned not to, and the 3rd planned to wait before deciding. Despite a long history of use, recommendations by experts, and free and easy accessibility, T2D pts questioned after the 1st wave of CV19 are not convinced of the fluv’s importance. Despite high case numbers and being themselves at high risk, not all T2Ds are willing to unequivocally accept a potential Health Canada sanctioned CVv. This study underlines the important work HCPs have ahead in educating and reassuring pts with regard to vaccination.


2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 118-128
Author(s):  
Siti Zuhaida Hussein ◽  
Chung Hong Chuo ◽  
Fawwaz Mohd Said ◽  
Khairunnisa Tumingan ◽  
Nurshalin Sahar Shah ◽  
...  

Background: Diabetes mellitus has become a major public health problem globally. Social media could be useful in assisting clinical practice and sharing health-related information to improve self-management and to promote a positive behavioural change. This study aims to develop a guide on the best online tools by determining the media preference reflected by health- related information received from social media amongst diabetic patients in Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. Methods: This study was conducted cross-sectional on 174 respondents, who were selected by using a simple random sampling method. Socio-demographic data and the use of the internet and media for health-related information were obtained via questionnaires. Results: The most preferred social media used for searching and sharing health-related information was WhatsApp (73.6%), followed by Facebook (67.8%), Instagram (18.4%) and Twitter (17.2%). The social media preference related to socio-demographic data of age was statistically significant (P < 0.002), which had a medium effect. Furthermore, the media preference was not significantly related to health-related information searched or shared on social media and the frequency of usage. Conclusion: Indeed, the social media have been an essential media platform to enhance public awareness concerning public health. This calls for evolution to further enhance the use of social media amongst healthcare practitioners to emphasise health promotion and empower the patients to play an active role in their healthcare. This study provides a guideline for the medical researchers, practitioners or healthcare providers in choosing WhatsApp as an online medium to communicate with diabetic patients in the future, specifically in Malaysia.


1998 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham I. Costello ◽  
Jörg H. Tuchen

Electronic commerce is causing fundamental changes in the insurance sector. Inherent opportunities of this innovative sales channel are driving the development of a new customer relationship paradigm, development of new products, pursuit of low cost ‘self service’ strategies, and emergence of ‘virtual brokers’. The Australian insurance sector is well positioned to take advantage of electronic commerce due to the high level of PC penetration, high Internet usage, and extensive broadband infrastructure. The perception is that the Australian insurance sector is meeting these challenges. Surprisingly, despite the emergence of electronic commerce as a ‘hot topic’ in the information technology and insurance sector literature, little empirical research has been reported. Much of the extant literature can be criticized as being too generic and superficial. It is argued that until research is focused on specific aspects of electronic commerce, we will fail to capture meaningful insights. The aim of this research project is to develop a research framework appropriate for electronic commerce, research and to apply it to a specific sector (insurance), in a specific geographical region (Australia), using a specific electronic commerce, medium (Internet), for a specific purpose (business to consumer sale of risk products). The research objective is to discover which Australian insurance companies are using electronic commerce for what. The survey found that of the 21 largest Australian insurance companies only 18 have web sites. These sites are mainly used for promotional purposes and not for directly generating sales. Only six companies offer customer-specific pricing of their products. And of these, only four companies sell any of their products over the Internet. Paradoxically, despite pressing business drivers in the insurance sector and a favourable electronic commerce environment in Australia, these findings demonstrate a significant gap between appreciation of the importance of electronic commerce and realization of commercial potential. Whilst most Australian insurance companies are well aware of the special importance of electronic commerce, many fail to take full advantage. Although further qualitative research is recommended to understand why this is so, it is clear that a significant gap remains between the technical capabilities of electronic commerce and actual practice in the Australian insurance sector.


2019 ◽  
pp. 786-804
Author(s):  
Shruti Kohli ◽  
Sonia Saini

Recent work in machine learning and natural language processing has studied the content of health related information in tweets and demonstrated the potential for extracting useful public health information from their aggregation. Social intelligence derived from health content has become of significant importance for various applications, including post-marketing drug surveillance, competitive intelligence, medicine reviews and to assess health-related opinions and sentiments. Further, the quantity of medical information in the media such as tweets on Twitter, Facebook or medical blogs is growing at an exponential rate. Medical data such as health records, drug data, etc. has become major candidates for Big Data analysis and thus exploring this content has become a necessity for organizations. However, the volume, velocity, variety, and quality of online health information present challenges, necessitating enhanced facilitation mechanisms for medical social computing. The objective of this chapter is to discuss the possibility of mining medical trends using Social Networks.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Judy Kruger ◽  
Angela Trosclair ◽  
Crystal Bruce ◽  
Diane Beistle

Public health programs seek to educate physicians by using a variety of venues. Therefore, it is important to understand which health information sources physicians are using and how these sources affect referrals. We explored how venues for health-related information affect physicians' referral practices to smoking cessation services. The 2008 DocStyles survey asked physicians to rank a list of their most trusted sources of health-related information. The analysis was restricted to 1,617 physicians who responded to all variables of interest. In this sample, the most trusted sources of health-related information cited by physicians were medical journals (95.9%), government health agencies (82.2%), other physicians (76.4%), professional medical societies (75.2%), and medical Web sites or podcasts (65.9%). Medical providers were more likely to refer tobacco users to cessation services if they used professional medical societies as a source to obtain patient health-related information, compared with medical providers not using this source (multivariate odds ratio = 1.31; 95% confidence interval = 1.03–1.66). Physicians use many health information sources. Therefore, to reach physicians effectively, a broad dissemination of guidelines and best practices in tobacco control is needed and should include information for medical societies.


2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 82-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva van Leer

Mobile tools are increasingly available to help individuals monitor their progress toward health behavior goals. Commonly known commercial products for health and fitness self-monitoring include wearable devices such as the Fitbit© and Nike + Pedometer© that work independently or in conjunction with mobile platforms (e.g., smartphones, media players) as well as web-based interfaces. These tools track and graph exercise behavior, provide motivational messages, offer health-related information, and allow users to share their accomplishments via social media. Approximately 2 million software programs or “apps” have been designed for mobile platforms (Pure Oxygen Mobile, 2013), many of which are health-related. The development of mobile health devices and applications is advancing so quickly that the Food and Drug Administration issued a Guidance statement with the purpose of defining mobile medical applications and describing a tailored approach to their regulation.


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