Doctors experiment with social media and apps

[NutritionRunner]

From this article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2013/06/21/doctors-social-media.html

 

Toronto-area intensive care doctor Joshua Landy is the medical mind behind a new Figure 1 app that was released on May 28. Landy said Figure 1 fills a need, allowing doctors to immediately post, search and comment on photographs while on their iPhones or tablets, much like the popular Instagram app. Limited to verified doctors, it blacks out a patient's distinguishing features and allows physicians to share cases with their colleagues.

 

Next month, a group of Halifax-based entrepreneurs will launch a social media platform TheRounds that allows doctors to participate in chats from their handheld devices, sharing expertise in a way that mimics the Grand Rounds in hospitals where doctors gather to discuss cases.

 

So what do clerks and residents think of these apps? Are they useful in practice? A distraction? Thoughts on the concerns about privacy?

[Pink Tulip]

The second one sounds most promising. The picture one would be very difficult to control and invasive to a patient's privacy. I could see an issue there where a patient would need to sign a form or give verbal permission for the physician to take a photo and essentially post it on the Internet - I don't see how they will limit it to just physicians because once it's shared it's shared forever.

 

Also, doesn't this give physicians the go-ahead to be on their phones while on the job? (whether doing something productive or not) For me as a patient I'd find it rude for a physician to say "ok hold on I will discuss it now and post it to get some answers". In their spare time I don't see a problem other than I'm sure the physician has a lot on their workload already so this just adds to it.

[tooty]

It's a move in the right direction imo. EMRs generated the same amount of anxiety in people who feared "the internet" but they're serving us pretty well.

 

I've spoken with the college on patient privacy and transferring patient info online and was told that ultimately it's the physicians' responsibility. As long as the mode if transfer is encrypted and logins are enforced these apps will probably help a lot of patients.

 

Personally if I were sick and my doc didn't know what to do I'd be very happy if he grabs whatever help he can find

[10wattbulb]

The second one sounds most promising. The picture one would be very difficult to control and invasive to a patient's privacy. I could see an issue there where a patient would need to sign a form or give verbal permission for the physician to take a photo and essentially post it on the Internet - I don't see how they will limit it to just physicians because once it's shared it's shared forever.

 

Also, doesn't this give physicians the go-ahead to be on their phones while on the job? (whether doing something productive or not) For me as a patient I'd find it rude for a physician to say "ok hold on I will discuss it now and post it to get some answers". In their spare time I don't see a problem other than I'm sure the physician has a lot on their workload already so this just adds to it.

 

+1 sounds mainly like a distraction to me. As a patient, I would also have an issue with docs walking around with their smartphones taking pics and consulting them every other sec. Problem is docs who use techno excessively don't even realize their problem!

[seeking1]

Behold the rise of health informatics!