Digital Rx: Take Two Aspirins and E-Mail Me in the Morning

NY Times ^ | March 2, 2005 | MILT FREUDENHEIM

[m3d1um]

$25 dollars!

I've seen hookers on cops charge less.

[neverdem]

FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.

[djf]

The difference being, you're trying to cure a disease, not catch one!

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

The patients can also use the e-mail connections, which they reach through secure Web sites, to get X-ray and test results

This is a good idea?

[neverdem]

"The patients can also use the e-mail connections, which they reach through secure Web sites, to get X-ray and test results"

This is a good idea?

I have my reservations about privacy, but gov't wants electronic medical records, badly.

[goodnesswins]

Have you ever had an xray done.....then needed to get it to another doctor for review? I have......then they hand it back to me to return to the first doctor.....which I do NOT do.....hey, I PAID for it! It's MINE!

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

I hadn't considered that aspect either. I was thinking of patients who get lab results before the doctors or don't know how to interpret them on their own. What about followup and meds?

I don't see this as a good idea. Is the average person going to interpret a CBC or Chem panel?

[Flavius]

I want my HMO plan to contact a doctor in bangladesh for .40 cents

Plus due to time difference ill bother the guy /gal at night when im at home

isnt it grand

[Squantos]

Reminds me of that old Viagra joke......

Can ya get it over the counter ?

Yeah if ya take three of em.

[Brad’s Gramma]

MAIL
MAIL
MAIL!

You have MAIL!

WHOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Born Conservative]

As a nurse, I answer patient emails on a daily basis. While in some cases it works well (prescription refills, advice for non-urgent conditions, etc), many times it doesn't. Common sense isn't the norm for many people; thus, we have patients emailing us for an appointment for their chest and left arm pain, babies with breathing difficulty, etc. Some will also give a VERY detailed description of their sexual difficulties (with more detail than we need to know); all of these emails are automatically a part of their EMR (electronic medical record). Since we still have all of the phone calls to handle, we usually don't get to the emails for an hour or two, which can be problematic if someone is emailing about MI symptoms.

[Eaker]

I've seen hookers on cops charge less.

Donut discount???

[Born Conservative]

X-ray films are becoming obsolete. Many facilities are phasing in digital imaging, so the "hard copy" will be either "printed out" for you to take to another doctor, or electronically transmitted. In fact, there are hospitals in the US that are "outsourcing" their imaging studies to foreign countries.

A patient in our clinic went to a hospital about an hour away, had a CT of his head (he had a concussion). They sent it for a "wet read", and the reading was back in an hour. However, the radiologist performing the wet read was in India; it was transmitted via the internet, and the turnaround time was very reasonable.

[Glenn]

which can be problematic if someone is emailing about MI symptoms

Amazing.

[Born Conservative]

I was thinking of patients who get lab results before the doctors or don't know how to interpret them on their own. What about followup and meds?

The way it's setup (at least the Epic version), the patient can only view certain labs, and only then, after the doctor has viewed and "signed" the lab. Each facility determines which labs or studies are available to the patient, and which aren't. If it's normal, the patient has access to it right after the doc reviews it. If it's abnormal, the doc has time to notify the patient. For example, a test for HIV will not be available to the patient to view online, but they can view their cholesterol results. For children, parents can get "proxy" access to their child's chart, so they will be able to view the results of little Johnny's throat culture, but probably not see the results of 14 year old Jane's pregnancy screen or STD culture.

[TexasCowboy]

'"The intelligence of our patients never ceases to amaze me," Dr. Walters said.'

That statement points up the biggest problem in our medical community - the idea that their patients are too dumb to know anything about their bodies.
They consider themselves to be on a plane of intelligence far above the masses.

Just because we call it a big legbone instead of a tibia doesn't mean we're dumb.

[Squantos]

Dear Dr. Science,
I've seen commercials for a "multi-task" cleaner.
How is this different than the "all purpose" cleaner I already use?
from Andrew Olson of Canton, MI


Multitasking is a job criterion they mention when they
hope they can hire one person to do the work of three. All purpose
cleaners are suitable for cleaning a wide variety of objects. You have
been confused by the shift in the meaning of a popular buzz word, or
its arbitrary and trendy substitution into places where its doesn't
belong. Remember those pompous idiots who used to insert "utilize"
where the rest of us would have said "use?" The politically correct
use of "rainforest" instead of "jungle?" It's enough to make a
lexicographer see red.

[TexasCowboy]

"There is something fascinating about science.
One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact."

Mark Twain

[Squantos]

LOL.........