Posts Tagged ‘social media’

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Quiet revolution in peer-to-peer healthcare social networks

Wednesday, April 18th, 2012


Social Media

Writing for the Guardian Professional, Dr Mohammad Al-Ubaydli asserts that there is a significant change in the way that patients and clinicians interact online.

As the founder and CEO of Patients Know Best, Dr Al-Ubaydli says that the revolution has been made possible by the growth of social media and technology.

Online peer-to-peer support networks such as Health Unlocked and Patients Like Me enable patients to share details of their medical conditions with people who have the same or similar conditions, and compare and contrast different diagnoses and treatments. The lack of geographical restriction means that even patients with rare conditions can relate to others in the same position, and share information with the common goal of improving their experience. Patients can ask for advice, learn from each other, discuss test results and compare the effectiveness of different medications, treatments or combinations of drugs.

This kind of sharing it is believed creates an “empowered patient” who is more aware and in control of their condition. It is thought that this will radically change the doctor-patient relationship, making it more equal and collaborative.

The boom in portable hardware devices also means that patients have access to a suite of medical advice apps on the go. The ability to monitor vital signs through simple and noninvasive technology means that more accurate reading can be taken and ultimately transmitted to the clinician, reducing reliance on hospital resources.

Dr Al-Ubaydil says that clinicians should welcome the change as an opportunity to compare themselves with other clinicians and engage patients around their treatment. He states there are some barriers to this method being adopted entirely, and states that clinicians should:

  • Not dismiss the patient’s own research
  • Use patient orientated sites to learn instead of teach
  • Move away from  “paternalistic medicine”, where the doctor speaks and the patient listens, to “participatory medicine” where both the patient and the clinician bring the information

Dr Al-Ubaydil states that patients empowering themselves will not only have large benefits for the individual, but it will also lead to more efficient and effective healthcare systems.

Original Source The Guardian

About Pathway Software

Pathway Software (www.pathwaysoftware.com) specialises in the design and development of patient information systems for Allied Health professionals.

Its flagship product, Therapy Manager, is an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system specifically designed for Therapy Services to provide decision makers with the ability to track and manage clinical activity and analyse cost of care by patient, episode or service. The system also demonstrably reduces administration time and the costs of managing Therapy Services.

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Social Media Guidelines for NHS Managers

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has published a set of guidelines around the use of social media in healthcare, saying that managers must take the initiative to be better informed about the use of networking sites in order to handle misuse cases at a local level.

Andy Jaegar, Assistant Director of Public and Professional Communications at the NMC who published the “Social networking sites” guidance, states that managers must increase their awareness of the pitfalls of social media in order to actively and appropriately respond to security incidents. The guidance came in response to an increasing number of enquiries from nurses and midwives about the role social media holds in media.

“One of the things that prompted the guidance over the summer were questions from employers about issues of confidentiality and whether it was appropriate or not to be friends with a patient on Facebook. This led to guidance being created largely based on the NMC’s code of conduct for nurses and midwives” Jaegar stated.

Clinicians and students working in the NHS reported wide inconsistencies in the way that their managers were dealing with problems that they were raising about colleagues’ use of social networking sites. It is hoped that the guidance will grant managers an understanding of the way in which social networking sites work, and place them in direct comparison with real world scenarios, as they should be treated as equally serious.

The guidance states that if a manager has responsibility for investigating a complaint about the use of a social networking site, they should join the site themselves. In familiarising themselves with sites such as Facebook and Twitter, managers should be able to identify exactly what is deemed ‘inappropriate’ behaviour and what actions to recommend to staff.

As opposed to a set of national guidelines from the Department of Health, Jaegar asserts that staff security breaches are better handled by local managers understanding the issue and dealing with it for themselves.

A survey carried out last month revealed that 72 separate actions were carried out by 16 trusts against staff who inappropriately used social media between 2008-09 and October 2011, a number that is reportedly on the rise.

Whilst Jaegar states that the majority of staff misuse of social media is largely unintentional, the NMC deals with some instances which are “absolutely deliberate”, and it is imperative that managers are able to discern the differences. Such instances include pursuit of relationships with patients and bullying and harassment of colleague over social media sites.

The next move for the NMC is to expand these social media guidelines into other areas of the health service, starting with psychologists. He says the NMC is also interested in encouraging healthcare professionals to use social networking sites to positively engage with patients and share good health stories. He adds that it would be disappointing if some health professionals avoided social networking sites over fears of misuse.

“We’re starting to think about, organisationally, the kind support we can give to nurses and midwives who are positively using social media as a way of talking about health,” Jaegar said.

Original Source The Guardian

About Pathway Software

Pathway Software (www.pathwaysoftware.com) specialises in the design and development of patient information systems for Allied Health professionals.

Its flagship product, Therapy Manager, is an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system specifically designed for Therapy Services to provide decision makers with the ability to track and manage clinical activity and analyse cost of care by patient, episode or service. The system also demonstrably reduces administration time and the costs of managing Therapy Services.

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Cold Weather NHS Plan will “save lives”

Monday, November 7th, 2011
The NHS and Social Services are attempting to introduce winter weather alerts aimed at helping vulnerable patients to stay safe during cold snaps.

The NHS will receive alerts from the Met Office and will put in place a plan to ensure that people are safe in their homes. Four alerts will be issued depending on the severity of the conditions, and each of which will urge local agencies, including NHS Trusts and councils, to carry out certain duties. Level three, for example, should see Health and Social Care staff considering daily visits to the most vulnerable, a level which was reached last winter.

The plan also contains advice to individuals and carers, such as ensuring at-risk groups are vaccinated against flu and what temperature to keep homes heated to. A minimum of 21 degrees Centigrade is being recommended during the day and 16 degrees Centigrade at night, reducing the risk of heart problems, strokes and respiratory illness.

The strategy has been put in place to assist in reducing NHS demand, as an estimated 27,000 extra people die every winter, a fifth more than during the summer.

The NHS are urging the government to do more to tackle the underlying problem that plagues the population especially at this time of year, the rising cost of energy. Additional funds will be directed towards keeping homes warm, but critics are warning this will not be sufficient to tackle the entire problem. Similar schemes such as Warm Front have been running for a number of years to help pay for people to insulate their homes or make heating improvements.

The Department of Health has pledged an extra £10 million for this initiative, however even with the extra funding, the overall amount directed towards seasonal health directives has been cut compared to previous years. A new fund, worth £20 million, is also being set up to encourage councils and charities to investigate innovative methods of helping the most vulnerable.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “We want everyone to get ready for winter and be prepared before temperatures drop. By working together, this co-ordinated plan will help protect those most in need.”

Mervyn Kohler, a special adviser for Age UK and member of the government’s Fuel Poverty Advisory Group, said while it was pleasing the NHS was now recognising the problem, much more needed to be done.

“The extra resources being put in is not enough. We also have to do more to tackle the big problem everyone is facing, the rising cost of energy bills. We need action across government if this is to be achieved.”

Individual Trusts may want to put in additional measures to ensure that patients are communicated with during the winter season, such as turning to alternative or social media channels as early as possible. Channels that could be used to increase patient awareness of seasonal issues could be social media, text messaging or electronic documentation. For more information on communicating with patients for seasonal advice, click here or email natalie.lines@pathwaysoftware.com.

Original Source BBC News

About Pathway Software

Pathway Software (www.pathwaysoftware.com) specialises in the design and development of patient information systems for Allied Health professionals.

Its flagship product, Therapy Manager, is an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system specifically designed for Therapy Services to provide decision makers with the ability to track and manage clinical activity and analyse cost of care by patient, episode or service. The system also demonstrably reduces administration time and the costs of managing Therapy Services.

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Social Media to prevent Mid Staffs tragedies

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
The public inquiry into a scandal at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust has heard that social media could potentially be used to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.

The concerns stemmed from the Trust reportedly having much higher death rates than would have been expected between 2005 and 2009, a problem which was initially blamed on “coding errors”. An independent inquiry led by Robert Francis QC however found that patients had been routinely neglected on several wards and within the A&E department. Part of the report also focused on the method in which staff dealt with complaints, which were either ignored or reported to the board in a way that failed to alert managers to what was going on.

Francis is now involved in a separate public inquiry to “detect and correct” the deficiencies in service provision that he identified in the initial report. Seminars are currently being held to gain public and expert feedback on ways to detect and prevent and such problems.

One of the key strategies identified by these seminars was the use of the Internet and social media as a method to grant patients and the public an effective and accessible way of making their issues known to the Trust.

Patient Opinion is one example of a complaints site that allows any individual to post “patient stories” about good and bad experiences at Trusts online. It also provides services to pass the stories onto NHS managers and encourages Trusts to respond and take corrective action if needed.

Chief Executive of Patient Opinion, Dr Paul Hodgkin, said that if such portals can be used correctly, situations like the ones that occurred at Mid Staffordshire could become much less likely to occur. He also asserts that the NHS could derive a lot of power as a result by giving patients a “voice” to state their opinions.

Hodgkin estimates that approximately 120 NHS Trusts are currently involved with Patient Opinion in terms of responding to stories loaded by patients, and states that the aim going forward is  to increase that number. The organisation is looking to create a ranking of Trusts in terms of their rate of response to encourage them to become more accountable.

Original Source eHealth Insider

About Pathway Software

Pathway Software (www.pathwaysoftware.com) specialises in the design and development of patient information systems for Allied Health professionals.

Its flagship product, Therapy Manager, is an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system specifically designed for Therapy Services to provide decision makers with the ability to track and manage clinical activity and analyse cost of care by patient, episode or service. The system also demonstrably reduces administration time and the costs of managing Therapy Services.

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Communicating Seasonal Advice to Patients in Therapy Services

Friday, October 28th, 2011

Cold weather and winter holidays can often lead to a peak in demand for NHS Therapy Outpatient and Inpatient services. In an attempt to reduce the number of seasonal issues that could potentially affect patients, Trusts could consider turning to alternative or social media channels as early as possible to communicate and interact with patients as they go about their daily lives.

Channels that could be used to increase patient awareness of seasonal issues could be:

  • Social Media
  • Text Messaging
  • Electronic Documentation

Social media

As “choice” becomes an increasing demand on the NHS, many patients may prefer to communicate with Therapy Services via a social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter on portable devices, such as Smartphones and Tablets. Catering to patients in this manner means that tech-savvy patients are communicated with in the most effective manner, and that patients can receive advice without having to make additional demands on clinical or administrative time.

Twitter

Twitter is a micro-blogging service that allows users to send and read messages called “tweets” which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters.

Creating a Twitter account can enable you to:

  • Tweet health advice or departmental information
  • Share relevant pictures, videos or online articles
  • Communicate directly with patients

Expanding the availability of Therapy Services to patients in new and innovative formats that suit their increasingly hectic lives will help to ensure that they feel best supported in their choice of provider, ultimately enhancing their experience and overall outcome.

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking site which enables users to connect with others via the medium of personal profiles, groups and Pages relating to specific activities or services.

Setting up a “Page” for Therapy services or individual departments will allow you to:

  • Post health advice and reminders
  • Create events and send invitations to patients i.e. falls prevention seminars
  • Post pictures, documentation and links to reliable online health content
  • Carry out polls, questionnaires and answer direct questions from patients

Text Messaging

Text Messaging is already becoming a significant development in the NHS, currently being used in some services for appointment booking or reminder services. This could be taken a step further by texting snippets of seasonal advice to patients so that they have high quality information available on-the-go.

Text messages could be used to transmit:

  • Weather warnings and travel advice in general and to clinic locations
  • Clinic times and availability over times of increased annual leave
  • NHS Direct contact details and out-of-hour helpline information

Electronic Documentation

The traditional NHS leaflet has and continues to be used to communicate advice about a host of healthcare problems and solutions, but it has a number of inherent disadvantages, such as cost, timeliness and wastage when information becomes out of date.

The utilisation of electronic documentation could help to address these issues as well as making it cost-effective to distribute valuable advice to a much wider audience.

E-leaflets or newsletters could be produced that provide information on:

  • Falls and joint advice for Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy
  • Diet support and advice for Dietetics

Electronic Documentation can also be made available for download via the Trust’s website, emailed directly to patients or distributed via social networking sites for sharing purposes.

About Pathway Software

Pathway Software (www.pathwaysoftware.com) specialises in the design and development of patient information systems for Allied Health professionals.

Its flagship product, Therapy Manager, is an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system specifically designed for Therapy Services to provide decision makers with the ability to track and manage clinical activity and analyse cost of care by patient, episode or service. The system also demonstrably reduces administration time and the costs of managing Therapy Services.

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