ents. Its blogroll leads me into an extensive network of medical communities. However, my arrival to a particular community could have a shortcut if the Blogroll were to be repositioned in the front. Despite facing a dull visual design, I somehow stumbled upon the ORlive site, which I later felt irresistible following through a virtual operating room experience that was guided by a step-by-step professional narration. While ORlive site is very limited n its functionality, Quality Health site seeks to achieve maximum interactivity by offering quizzes, forums, question and answers, and videos in a somewhat crowded visual design. Dlife site cannot be misunderstood for other sites with a rolling advertisement flashing out messages at the center with surrounding graphics pointing to other useful information and "Blogabetes" (as pictured above), a blog for diabetics to discuss their personal experiences, Notwithstanding that of other written messages, the font is too small for ease of reading. Similarly, American Academy of Pediatrics website is very distinctive, strategically displaying faces of infant and young children. The content is well organized to help parents access straight into a subject of immediate interest, which includes health and development issues involving children of different age groups. Visual design could be more creative or artistic to enhance weak experience. HealthAffairs gives the impression that it is a no-nonsense blog with an editorial format and authority which is reflected in a subtitle – “The Policy Journal of the Health Sphere”. The font and content uphold that image. I find the postings intellectually stimulating and current. However, a more contemporary visual design may make it less intimidating. Moving along with a serious mood, I had expected the Medical Library Association site to be as stiff as the HealthAffairs Blog. It turns out that it has a good artistic visual design incorporating elements of fun, art, and creativity. I did find useful information for health consumers though the site appears to primarily serve the professionals. After all, click by click, I found my search enjoyable and rewarding.
Thursday, March 27
Click by Click: Joining the Health Provider and Consumers Together
This week, I again browsed the internet to get an update of health care development. I came across some quality resources that complement the websites and blogs I had previously listed in my link roll in hope of promoting a greater understanding of matters concerning health care. These additions meet the standards set by Webby Awards and IMSA criteria. Some sites may appear to serve the same purpose, but they differ in emphasis and breath. MerckMedicus was the first website that caught my attention, displaying highlights regarding medical news and consumer news. The visual design and fonts deliberately adopt a daily newspaper format to look like one, but unintentionally leads to congestion. The Medscape site also features latest news and displays prominently specialty spotlight but blended together well with effective pictures and graphics to encourage further navigation. Some may find the content too specialized for easy reading. The Over-My-Med-body blog uses an eye-catching skeleton to stir emotion and draw interactions. I was not surprised to discover lively postings commenting on a wide spectrum of health care issues intellectually and basing on real-life experiences. If its content is better organized around a singular or related issue, overall experience will be enhanced. The ScienceRoll blog uses a combination of video presentation and simulation to generate interest and comments. Its blogroll leads me into an extensive network of medical communities. However, my arrival to a particular community could have a shortcut if the Blogroll were to be repositioned in the front. Despite facing a dull visual design, I somehow stumbled upon the ORlive site, which I later felt irresistible following through a virtual operating room experience that was guided by a step-by-step professional narration. While ORlive site is very limited n its functionality, Quality Health site seeks to achieve maximum interactivity by offering quizzes, forums, question and answers, and videos in a somewhat crowded visual design. Dlife site cannot be misunderstood for other sites with a rolling advertisement flashing out messages at the center with surrounding graphics pointing to other useful information and "Blogabetes" (as pictured above), a blog for diabetics to discuss their personal experiences, Notwithstanding that of other written messages, the font is too small for ease of reading. Similarly, American Academy of Pediatrics website is very distinctive, strategically displaying faces of infant and young children. The content is well organized to help parents access straight into a subject of immediate interest, which includes health and development issues involving children of different age groups. Visual design could be more creative or artistic to enhance weak experience. HealthAffairs gives the impression that it is a no-nonsense blog with an editorial format and authority which is reflected in a subtitle – “The Policy Journal of the Health Sphere”. The font and content uphold that image. I find the postings intellectually stimulating and current. However, a more contemporary visual design may make it less intimidating. Moving along with a serious mood, I had expected the Medical Library Association site to be as stiff as the HealthAffairs Blog. It turns out that it has a good artistic visual design incorporating elements of fun, art, and creativity. I did find useful information for health consumers though the site appears to primarily serve the professionals. After all, click by click, I found my search enjoyable and rewarding.
ents. Its blogroll leads me into an extensive network of medical communities. However, my arrival to a particular community could have a shortcut if the Blogroll were to be repositioned in the front. Despite facing a dull visual design, I somehow stumbled upon the ORlive site, which I later felt irresistible following through a virtual operating room experience that was guided by a step-by-step professional narration. While ORlive site is very limited n its functionality, Quality Health site seeks to achieve maximum interactivity by offering quizzes, forums, question and answers, and videos in a somewhat crowded visual design. Dlife site cannot be misunderstood for other sites with a rolling advertisement flashing out messages at the center with surrounding graphics pointing to other useful information and "Blogabetes" (as pictured above), a blog for diabetics to discuss their personal experiences, Notwithstanding that of other written messages, the font is too small for ease of reading. Similarly, American Academy of Pediatrics website is very distinctive, strategically displaying faces of infant and young children. The content is well organized to help parents access straight into a subject of immediate interest, which includes health and development issues involving children of different age groups. Visual design could be more creative or artistic to enhance weak experience. HealthAffairs gives the impression that it is a no-nonsense blog with an editorial format and authority which is reflected in a subtitle – “The Policy Journal of the Health Sphere”. The font and content uphold that image. I find the postings intellectually stimulating and current. However, a more contemporary visual design may make it less intimidating. Moving along with a serious mood, I had expected the Medical Library Association site to be as stiff as the HealthAffairs Blog. It turns out that it has a good artistic visual design incorporating elements of fun, art, and creativity. I did find useful information for health consumers though the site appears to primarily serve the professionals. After all, click by click, I found my search enjoyable and rewarding.
Sunday, March 9
The Emergence of a Health Information System: A White Elephant?
Health care is an important issue in the United States, as 47 million Americans are without health insurance coverage, and spending is projected to rise to $4 trillion or 20% of GDP by 2016. In a report prepared for the Commonwealth Fund Commission on High Performance Health System, the authors recommended four key areas of policy adoption that will simultaneously improve health care access, quality, and overall health of the population. The top priority is to produce and use better information for health care decision-making. This means having a national health information storage system or network of systems that can be updated regularly, efficiently, and be accessible at the point of care. Such a system holds the promises of delivering better care, lowering costs, and reducing medical errors. It also tends to benefit stakeholders, such as providers, payers, and the hospital systems.
On February 28, Google unveiled its plan to launch a personal medical record service, at a health care conference in Flori
da. Under this plan, a password-protected Web service (as shown to the left) stores health records on Google computers, with a medical service directory that lets users input doctor’s records, drug history, and test results. Currently, Google is reported to be in the process of signing deals with hospitals and companies including medical tester Quest Diagnostics Inc, Health Insurer Aetna Inc, Walgreens and Wal-Mart Inc pharmacies. Google’s announcement is a significant addition to the prevailing health care reform momentum. Google’s biggest rival, Microsoft, has a similar service (as pictured below) offered under its Health Vault services. Other start-ups in the field include Revolution Health, a company backed by former AOL Chairman Steve Case. The U.S. government has ambitious plans to put in place a national network to share health data with all relevant parties by 2014. With the involvement of market participants like Google and Microsoft, the nation may reach the finishing line sooner than the United Kingdom.
In 2002, the United Kingdom embarked on a similar program to computerize patient’s health records and to make them available at the point of care by doctors. The program was reported in the U.K. Parliament to be the largest IT work in the U.K., involving a budget of £2.3b (about US $4.66 billion) over a three year period. The budget was later increased to £12.4bn extended over 10 years. Edward Leigh, the chairman of the Commons Public A
ccounts Committee issued a report in April 2007 saying, “This is the biggest IT project in the world and it is turning into the biggest disaster.” Unlike in the U.K., the U.S commercial enterprises have taken charge of the enormous project. According to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, there are currently more than 160 Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) in the U.S. that are either up and running or under development. Supporting the development is a large pool of technology-savvy individuals working in businesses like IBM, Oracle, Siemens, AG, and other small business concerns. They provide technical solutions such as the digitalization of records, adapting facsimile technology to feed information electronically, reducing individual identity to no more than a bar-code, and other functions that deliver the promises of patient-controlled and privacy protection that the system makes. Perhaps due to the lack of awareness of these technological advancement or possibility, patient privacy issue continues to show up in public discussion.
The World Privacy Forum raised the issue in February 2008 in its article entitled, “Why many PHRs Threaten Privacy.” The World Privacy Forum is a non-profit public interest research and consumer education group which was founded in 2003. I find the discussion rather restrained and limited to the technical loopholes which exist in the current version of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA is a federal rule that establishes a baseline for health privacy in the United States, and was enacted in 1995 long before many smaller Personal Health Record (PHR) players came into business. HIPAA must be amended to close such technical loopholes in order to add credibility or integrity to such a health information system. In reality, such a system adds no additional risk to patient privacy than what already exists. Robert Gellman, the author of the above-mentioned article said, “The PHR record is a copy but not the only copy.” The health information about consumers held by their physicians, health plans, dentists, laboratories, pharmacies remains exactly where it was before it entered the PHR.
On February 28, Google unveiled its plan to launch a personal medical record service, at a health care conference in Flori
da. Under this plan, a password-protected Web service (as shown to the left) stores health records on Google computers, with a medical service directory that lets users input doctor’s records, drug history, and test results. Currently, Google is reported to be in the process of signing deals with hospitals and companies including medical tester Quest Diagnostics Inc, Health Insurer Aetna Inc, Walgreens and Wal-Mart Inc pharmacies. Google’s announcement is a significant addition to the prevailing health care reform momentum. Google’s biggest rival, Microsoft, has a similar service (as pictured below) offered under its Health Vault services. Other start-ups in the field include Revolution Health, a company backed by former AOL Chairman Steve Case. The U.S. government has ambitious plans to put in place a national network to share health data with all relevant parties by 2014. With the involvement of market participants like Google and Microsoft, the nation may reach the finishing line sooner than the United Kingdom.In 2002, the United Kingdom embarked on a similar program to computerize patient’s health records and to make them available at the point of care by doctors. The program was reported in the U.K. Parliament to be the largest IT work in the U.K., involving a budget of £2.3b (about US $4.66 billion) over a three year period. The budget was later increased to £12.4bn extended over 10 years. Edward Leigh, the chairman of the Commons Public A
ccounts Committee issued a report in April 2007 saying, “This is the biggest IT project in the world and it is turning into the biggest disaster.” Unlike in the U.K., the U.S commercial enterprises have taken charge of the enormous project. According to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, there are currently more than 160 Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) in the U.S. that are either up and running or under development. Supporting the development is a large pool of technology-savvy individuals working in businesses like IBM, Oracle, Siemens, AG, and other small business concerns. They provide technical solutions such as the digitalization of records, adapting facsimile technology to feed information electronically, reducing individual identity to no more than a bar-code, and other functions that deliver the promises of patient-controlled and privacy protection that the system makes. Perhaps due to the lack of awareness of these technological advancement or possibility, patient privacy issue continues to show up in public discussion.The World Privacy Forum raised the issue in February 2008 in its article entitled, “Why many PHRs Threaten Privacy.” The World Privacy Forum is a non-profit public interest research and consumer education group which was founded in 2003. I find the discussion rather restrained and limited to the technical loopholes which exist in the current version of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA is a federal rule that establishes a baseline for health privacy in the United States, and was enacted in 1995 long before many smaller Personal Health Record (PHR) players came into business. HIPAA must be amended to close such technical loopholes in order to add credibility or integrity to such a health information system. In reality, such a system adds no additional risk to patient privacy than what already exists. Robert Gellman, the author of the above-mentioned article said, “The PHR record is a copy but not the only copy.” The health information about consumers held by their physicians, health plans, dentists, laboratories, pharmacies remains exactly where it was before it entered the PHR.
Looking at the Microsoft Health Vault website, one gets a sense that it is sensitive to patients’ privacy rights. The website highlights its privacy commitment policy on the top right (see image above). In the same manner, and in announcing the launch of Google’s Health service, its
Sunday, March 2
Qualities of a Good Website: Presentation, Content, Interactivity, and Usefulness
This week, I continued to probe the Web for updates on health-related issues. I selected ten websites and blogs and listed them at the linkroll on the right as my primary resource pool. Here is my evaluation of each blog based on the Webby Awards and Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) criterion.
The Physician’s First Watch website’s primary strength is in its rich and current content targeting visitors who primarily want to be alerted on the latest medical news or development. Visual representation and functionality take the back seat. Whereas WebMD site takes a different route – it offers interactivity (employing polls, message boards, and quizzes, and video presentations). It is a good website for advice and information, but not opinion. Its structure and navigation is user friendly. WebMD is one of the sites a visitor will bookmark for future references. On the other end of interactivity is the Health Care Renewal blog. It looks like a blog for medical professionals. The opinion expressed is strong with links to support its view or opinion. Interaction and visual representation are given low priority. Its structure and navigation is elementary. Similar in structure, The Health Care Blog discusses the latest health care developments. Its content is technically-oriented; the language is concise. Though weak in visual design and interactivity, the blogger occasionally adds sound clips to enhance overall experience. The opinion expressed is strong, but is balanced with views promoted by others through the links attached. Po
pularly recognized, the Wall Street Journal's Health blog adopts its proprietary newspaper format. The blog's journalistic language style and creative photos (as shown on the left) draw attention. It caters to the general population; hence structure and navigation are made simple. Its blog timing and usefulness exceeded my expectation. In the same manner, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) website caught my attention with attractive visual representation. Highlighting the recent hot topics in its “In the News” board enhances its usefulness, and its added functionalities like NIH Radio, Podcasts, and slide shows improve visitors' overall experience. However, interactivity seems lacking. Moving from the strength of visual presentation, Mayo Clinic’s website impresses visitors with a broad range of services highlighted on a tool bar. It entertains visitor’s emergency situation with a “Find It Fast” panel. Navigation is easy, and its interactivity is facilitated by quizzes or submission of personal questions. Podcast, links to blogs, and video shows enhance visitor’s overall experience. Catering to the medical professionals, Merck Manuals Medical Library site is plain looking. Its content covers a broad range of topics as a library would. Interactivity is obviously absent. Navigation is user-friendly. Multi-media are provided for better illustration in some subjects. No website in my link roll provides such extensive interactivity as the Wrong Diagnosis website. It provides a forum for visitors to enquire about a medical condition or write about one’s related experience. Visual design incorporates the listing of top-10 diseases to draw attention. A video center is built in to explain various diseases, making overall experience rewarding. As expected, Discovery Health’s website provides content that everyone in the modern society craves for, covering the latest news or information on health, healthy living, diseases, and delivers them with animation, graphics, and video presentations. It offers quizzes to promote interaction, and creates a forum for its community. Its easy navigation is vital to such functionalities. Positioning itself differently, Best Health’s website combines health, surgery procedure and drug information in its content using animation and video presentation to promote understanding. Its blog influence is wide, allowing visitors to tap into other resource centers for extended research through an easy navigation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
