Evidence-based: Web 2.0 in MedicineSaturday, September 12, 2009 at 03:09 PM
EDT
There are more and more articles published in peer-reviewed journals that
focus on how web 2.0 can be used in medicine:
The National Board of Physicians has developed specific ethical
guidelines for web sites devoted to health issues and specifically for
physician-authored content. The National Board of Physicians acknowledges that
physicians can present themselves, their office, and their specific practice on
their web site, notwithstanding any restrictions otherwise applicable to
advertising.
We are using collaborative technologies, in the realm of Web
2.0, to develop a web-based knowledge sharing medium for fostering a community
of pediatric pain practitioners that engages in collaborative learning and
problem solving. We present the design and use of a web portal featuring a
discussion forum to facilitate experiential knowledge sharing based on our
LINKS knowledge sharing model.
We selected a random sample of 25 out of 769 Multiple Sclerosis
patient-generated videos and analyzed their corresponding 557 comments for
health information. 320 comments met the inclusion criteria and 70 contained
personal health information (PHI). Comments with PHI were sub-characterized for
the type of medical information (i.e., diagnosis, date of diagnosis,
medication, among others). In this descriptive study, we present the strata
within this content and postulate some of the corresponding patient risks and
ethical challenges associated with Patient-Generated Content found in YouTube
video comments.
Social software and Web 2.0 provides new opportunities for
participation and collaborative knowledge construction in peer support and
self-care to live well despite transient or permanent health problems.
Opportunities include many to many interactions to share and accumulate
knowledge and experiences from several perspectives. We are conducting a study
to create a collaborative environment for peer support and knowledge
construction related to a rare condition.
This article originally appeared on ScienceRoll. |