Gone
are the days when we sought the help of a physician to understand
a medical term or a condition. Now, things are so simple at
the touch of a button. Physicians need not explain to patients
how he or she is going to feel after a surgery or what to
expect from a procedure or what side effects a particular
drug can give. All these are self-learnable now. Thanks to
Internet and the excellent medical websites available. Internet-time
has become inevitable in our lives. Now everyone has easy
access to persons, places, and technology. No one needs to
be educated about Skype or what's app. The impact of internet
on the healthcare industry is tremendous.
Healthcare and Social Media:
Social media is changing the nature and speed of health care
interaction between consumers and healthcare organizations.
Some reliable statistics of US says that social media users
are twice in the age group of 18-24 compared to their 45-54
year old counterparts and 90% of them trust the medical information
shared by others on social media. At least 31% of healthcare
organizations have specific social media guidelines in writing.
19% of smart phone owners have at least one health app on
their phone like weight or diet or exercise. Recent study
shows 54% of the patients are comfortable seeking medical
advice from online communities to treat their condition. 31%
of healthcare professionals are using social media for professional
networking. Social media is affecting the choice of doctor
or medical facility to 41% of the people. More than 30% of
the people are sharing their health information on social
media sites with other patients and a sizable percentage of
people share with doctors, hospitals, health insurance companies
or drug companies. Facebook is used by 22% of parents to seek
medical information. The quality of care provided through
social media is better according to 60% of the doctors. Youtube
traffic to hospital sites has increased by 119% over every
year. Most popular activity of 60% of physicians is following
what their colleagues are discussing and sharing on social.
So, internet has become a part of the healthcare industry
globally.
The Internet provides unprecedented
opportunities for interaction and data sharing among health
care providers, patients and researchers. However, the advantages
provided by the Internet is not without significant risk to
the confidentiality and integrity of information.
Electronic Health Record
(EHR) systems have been in use since the 1960's,
but more prevalent since 2009. EHR system came into existence
due to physicians concerns that, because the complexity of
medical care is increasing, that in certain critical situations,
the patient information might not be fully accessible. The
EHR systems and software programs are such that they could
store enormous amounts of patient data and by accessing them
any critical information can be obtained quickly and accurately.
How secure is the patient
data available on the EHR? The Office for Civil Rights
has enforced the HIPAA (The Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 that was enacted by the Unites
States Congress). The HIPAA Privacy Rule protects the privacy
of individually identifiable health information. The HIPAA
Security Rule sets national standards for the security of
electronic protected health information. The HIPAA Breach
Notification Rule requires covered entities and business associates
to provide notification following a breach of unsecured protected
health information. The confidentiality provisions of the
Patient Safety Rule protects identifiable information being
used to analyze patient safety events and improve patient
safety.
Summing up, the internet health
services do have advantages as well as disadvantages. Advantages
being the use of the internet to research health issues, medications,
chatting with doctors online, and saving of time and effort
in reaching the physician. The disadvantages being lack of
accuracy, lack of internet skills by elderly people, and false
online pharmacies. Also, there is a possibility that an insurance
company also checks through the websites someone has looked
at, and this could jeopardize an insurance policy if the provider
thinks that the person may have a preexisting condition. However,
weighing the pros and cons, internet healthcare is and will
continue to be a huge advantage to the world, provided all
of the approved websites are labeled official and the false
websites eliminated.
Watch the Video: Future vision of Healthcare
Protecting your phone data ...
Image credit:www.cio.com
If you are someone
who misplaces your phone quite often and worried
about data falling into wrong hands then you now
have an option.
You can now have a
"remote kill switch" which can allow you
to remotely wipe your phone. Apple's "Mobile
Me" and Android's "SMobile Anti-theft"
serves such service. Check your phone manufacturer
and your service provider for a remote kill option.
However, don't forget to do the simple thing - adding
a password to your phone.
Disclaimer: The above content is provided
for information and awareness purpose only. It is not prescriptive
or suggestive or meant to replaces your qualified physician's
advice or consultation.
