Internet Self-Diagnosis

In today’s cyber world we are provided with resources and information on anything and everything. We can purchase all our clothing and home furnishings online. We can order a pizza online and have it delivered. We can even visit with a virtual doctor.

The internet provides us with services like WebMD and mobile applications like iTriage that will collect information on our symptoms and ailments then report back to us the possible causes, sicknesses and diseases.

But is this type of self-diagnosis doing more harm than good?

For instance this is what might happen if you ask “Dr. Google” what is wrong with you:

Some doctors feel that these online diagnostics are creating “cyberchondriacs,” a common term used to describe otherwise rational internet users who latch on to the worst diagnosis thrown at them by search engines, message boards and diagnostic services. For example, a user googles the cause of her three day migraine and most of the top results include brain tumor and scattered among the first page are some results about stress and eye sight issues but the user immediate jumps to the worst—brain tumor.

It is also ironic to note that even WebMD recognizes the peril of Cyberchondria buried within their Family Webicine blog from December 2008. But it does not dare to place this warning on its homepage as a valuable reference in easing the imaginations of their users.

So why are more and more people turning to self-diagnosis through the internet? Most health professionals just chalk it up to the rise in general internet usage and the prevalence of hypochondriacs throughout history.

Not only is this practice of online self diagnosis dangerous but it can also be deadly.  Some people use the internet to gain piece of mind about an ailment when a doctor's appointment seems unnecessary or too costly without insurance. Some doctors feel that this practice is causing people to feel that regularly scheduled doctors appointments are unnecessary and this will cause a decline in preventative health measures in the long run.

So what should you do to instead of turning to the internet for help? The Huffington Post suggests:

• Engage in an open dialogue with your physician for a diagnosis or advice
• Develop an inner circle of wise people to go to for advice
• Seek out smart accredited authorities and newsletters
• Be your own advocate; No one knows your body better than you

Sources:
Cyberchondria: The perils of internet self-diagnosis http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/cyberchondria-the-perils-of-internet-selfdiagnosis-1623649.html

Internet vs. Doctor: Our Obsession with Self Diagnosis http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-pamela-peeke/internet-overload_b_830616.html

Family Webicine: Cyberchondria http://blogs.webmd.com/all-ears/2008/12/cyberchondria.html

Rise in Web Browsing has resulted in more people turning to self diagnosing http://www.wishard.edu/497.html

Researcher's at WSU's Parent Health Lab in the School of Medicine received a three-year grant to research and develop a potentially mobile device that will moniter alcohol use in pregnant woman, particularly those who are considered at risk for increased alcohol consumption, which can lead to serious birth defects as well as decreased social and behavioral functions once the child is born.

Dr. Steven Ondersma, Ph.D, who is an associate professor Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Wayne State University is leading this study, which he hopes will serve as a foundation for much larger-scale investigations and possible production of handheld mobile devices which will assist doctors and clinicians to ascertain the levels of alcohol used during pregnancy. Additionally the study will also examine how valid the alcohol bio marker, Ethyl Glucuronide is as an indicator of alcohol exposure.

To see the direct link: http://prognosis.med.wayne.edu/article/nih-grant-to-develop-computerdelivered-intervention-for-alcohol-use-in-pregnant-women

NewMediaMedicine from MIT

This week I begin my examination of how universities are intersecting with new media and medicine to confront the overwhelming problem of healthcare in the United States.

This from NEWMEDIAMEDICINE – the MIT Media lab. It has a tag which reads: Radical new collaborations catalyzing a revolution in health

So who’s collaborating? On what? And how will this catalyze a revolution in health? And finally – what are they suggesting by “revolution?”

According to the website (http://newmed.media.mit.edu/intro) New Media Medicine is dedicated to shifting the focus on healthcare away from the traditional role of the doctor and giving more agency to the individual who is experiencing the health issue. The organization goes so far as to recommend putting the individual “on an equal footing with doctors, researchers, and other experts.” MIT is working on new technologies that will enable collaborations with individuals and their healthcare professionals and in doing so will allow the individual, it appears, a greater commitment to their wellness.

On the surface one could reasonably ask: isn’t the fact that one is ill reason enough to participate in the cure? But MIT feels that by allowing more involvement in the decision making process regarding therapy the individual participates more enthusiastically and, by virtue of this fact, has a greater chance of recovery. I have to say that this makes sense to me!

At present the team consists of 6 investigators whose expertise range from a medical doctor, to a software engineer, to a communications expert – and all the spaces in between. Each of the collaborators brings a special “heart” to the project and each seems to have a particular area of concentration with regard to the projects.

A short list of the projects includes “Collaborythm” – which is a speech and touch controlled system in which the doctor and patients make collaborative decisions about the patient’s care protocol: http://vimeo.com/4400829; “Collective Discovery” which seeks to interact with patient communities allowing communities to provide collective data and to use data effectively in community-wide practices involving healthcare decisions; and “Weight Mate” – subtitled: “getting to know your food moods” which uses smart phones to track dietary information and return context-sensitive information to the end user regarding trends toward health or illness. And there are more!

Always an innovator in technology, MIT is proving once again to thing strategically, and outside the box, about one of the nation (and the world’s) most pressing concerns.

Welcome to Healthcare and New Media Practices

Welcome to our blog: Healthcare and New Media Practices!

As the name implies we will be investigating the relationship between new media, new technology, and the age old concerns of individual and community health. We hope to cover a broad range of topics, but generally speaking we will hone in on new advances in new media devices and how they interact with healthcare, how the digital age supports self-diagnosis and how the university system plays a role in these developing technologies.

So join us in our investigation and in our conversation regarding all these exciting developments!