Author Archives: Katerina Jackson
iPad, healthcare and those with disabilities
I am always fascinated with new technology. But I am fascinated even more when these cool gadgets find their way to solve the problems of minorities and those with disabilities, or improve healthcare delivery, or both.
That is why I am so impressed how iPad (which initially when released was no more than another super cool gadget for me) is slowly becoming a valuable tool in a doctor’s office. It proves to positively impact doctor-patient communication and allows patients to better understand their condition. Besides that, iPad represents a completely different, very rich visual experience when using EHRs, or any other applications.
I am also impressed with iPad being able to help those with medical disabilities. As the article points out iPad is very easy to navigate for the patients who are suffering from Parkinson’s disease and for anyone with diminished fine motor skills and other disabilities.
As it turns out, iPad may be opening opportunities for healthcare system to engage more those with disabilities and help them better communicate with the doctors so to improve health outcomes. Would love to see that happening… sooner rather then later.
Are you ready to find out what your doctor is saying about you?
I personally like the idea of a doctor sharing his notes with the patient. So many other people do. That is why a year-long OpenNote project kicked in few weeks ago to find out if this transparency can facilitate doctor-patient communication, educate individuals about their own health and improve health outcomes. The team of nurses, physicians and 25,000 patients at Beth Israel Deaconess, Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pa., and Harborview Medical Center in Seattle got seriously involved in the project. Peer-review evaluation by both doctor and patient is to come.
There are two sides of this “coin” being discussed. One is sharing the notes with the patients will improve their understanding of health, empower, educate and engage them more while adding transparency. Another is sharing the notes may lead to confusion and panic on the patient side. Thus, because of a specific terminology and abbreviations, individuals may take doctor’s notes in a wrong way. For example, OD does not mean overdose, but rather oculus dexter, or right eye.
It is said this system of sharing the notes will benefit those who have many medical problems and visit doctors quite frequently. It will let them be well informed about their health, ask questions and follow the medication and lifestyle regime prescribed by the doctors. Yet, I quite disagree with that. I do believe it will benefit those who do a general once-a-year check up – someone like me. If I do not understand the term I always can go online and check it, so other can.
More information on OpenNote project:
Meaningful Use – Summary
There is a countless number of resources on the Meaningful Use Final Rule out there. Few of those I mentioned in my previous post. Yet, I recently found a great presentation on John Halamka blog (another thank you to John!) which gives you a very comprehensive overview of the Final Rule (compare 19 slides to 864 and 228 pages documents!). Here is the document:
So, what happened this week
It was quite an intense week. In case you missed it all let me give you a quick snapshot of what happened:
- The most important news this week is announcement of final rules on “Meaningful Use”. Final rules provide more flexibility and relax proposed regulations released in January. Through HITECH, the federal government allocating unprecedented financial resources for adoption and “meaningful use” of EHRs.
Read more at: http://healthcarereform.nejm.org/?p=3732&query=OF
This is a link to the press conference on “Meaningful Use”: HHS announces final rule on “Meaningful Rule”
I have no access to my own health info…
I would like to share a short story with you. Yesterday I went to my doctor to get a referral for X-Ray and thyroid ultrasound. (Keep in mind I do not visit a doctor on a regular basis. Hence, I am not aware of how this process doctor-referral-radiology center-results works. I am more of a patient who looks for relevant information online, avoids MRI/X-Ray, etc. unless the momentum arrives (like yesterday) and prefers keep a track of my own records.) Therefore, can you imagine my frustration when after getting all these procedures done I was refused to be given the results?
I was told my doctor (not me!) will receive the results in 4 days! Also, I was told they are not allowed to disclose information about my health to me. So, what if I have some serious injures (which I am not aware of) and it may have devastating consequences on my health if I do not address the problem now? But I cannot – I have to wait 4 days…
Moreover, apparently, when the doctor gives you a referral to the radiology center, they have no clue why the procedure should be done. Doctor and radiology center have no communication at all. A gap. Big gap.
Luckily, I knew exactly the reason of having X-Ray and ultrasound. But what if I had an amnesia, or speech disorder, or something else preventing me from explaining to the nurse why I am getting this done, and my doctor was not in the town in that moment to give them information, what would have happened? Who would have known why am I doing this?
So now, besides having paper medical records at my doctor’s office, I have new paper records started on me in the radiology center (of course, I have many other records at different health organizations collected for last 20 years, I just do not know where are they). And I have no access to either one. Everything is disconnected. And I do not know how serious my situation is. At least for next 3 days.
Hi There!
Before you get overwhelmed with my future blog posts I decided to drop a few lines and introduce myself.
My name is Katerina, and as Hamish put it I am one of those “interesting people running around who cannot wait to start on this blog“. And honestly, I cannot wait! My first post was planned on the end of last week; however, I had to reschedule it because of me getting over my jet lag. I had quite a long trip from New Zealand where I stayed for last 6 weeks working closely with Hamish MacDonald and Lifetime Health Dairy team, to New York where I permanently live and continue working with the company. I had a very hectic, exciting and enjoyable 6 weeks. One of the outcomes is this blog (that is a small yet quite significant part of what actually has been done!).
On our blog I will be discussing the most recent news in Health IT, Health 2.0 and E-Patient Movement, as well as addressing issues brought up by you. I will try not to bore you much and keep it informational, interesting, entertaining and concise. In the case me not doing that I expect you to bring this to my attention (please do!) so I could quickly bring myself back on the right track.
We welcome your feedback on our product, web site and blog, as well as your stories and discussions.
Let this party begin!
Yours,
Katerina
Welcome to our blog!
Hello & Welcome to the official blog of Lifetime Health Diary™, your personal health diary that is designed to put you and your healthcare providers on the same page, literally!
Here you will find everything on Lifetime Health Diary™ – from product descriptions, updates, concerns, etc to changes within the company, as well as the latest industry news (Health 2.0, EHR/PHR and challenges healthcare industry faces…etc) and guest writers we may have.
You’ll find new posts submitted every Monday by me, Hamish MacDonald, CEO. There will be other blog entries posted throughout the week by Lifetime Health Diary™ staff, users and supporters (interesting people running around here who cannot wait to start on this blog!) covering issues, news, concerns, or answering your questions. I hope you’ll find our blog a bit more interesting and easier to read than your doctor’s prescription!
I encourage you to sign up for our weekly updates going right in your email inbox, or add our RSS feed, bookmark this blog, or send it to your colleagues.
We’d love to get your feedback as you use the Diary, and we’ll be happy to answer any of your questions. It would also be great to see what you want to be discussed, and perhaps you may have some inspirational stories to share of how the Diary helped your healthcare providers avoid a mistake or provide better health outcomes for you. Our goal is to improve our product so it suits your needs. Our Vision is a world of perfect communication between people and their healthcare providers.
I am looking forward to the challenge, and striving to achieve beyond your expectations.
In health,
Hamish MacDonald
CEO, Lifetime Health Diary Ltd.
