400 words on the uses of Second Life™ in doctor-patient relationships

Name: Sanaz Martin

Date: 10/29/10

Module #3: Second Life™

400 words on the uses of Second Life™ in doctor-patient relationships

Second life in doctor patient relationships is in its infancy.  Since second life is new to health care, there are many concerns about using it; these often depend on an individual’s comfort level.  Every time there is a new approach to any field, doubts and concerns often follow.  Some concerns about second life in doctor patient relationship are authenticity of provider and information patients present, virtual environment for leisure vs. serious business of health care, building trust between patient and provider.

If patient’s communication with the provider is only via second life, there is always question that how does the patient know if the provider is the person he or she says he or she is.  On the other hand, provider’s evaluation would miss the non-verbal portion of communication in virtual world during the communication with patient, which is one of the essential parts of patient assessment.  However, combination of in person visits and virtual meeting would solve this problem.

Another concern would be that health related interactions are serious business while virtual environment usually used for fun and leisure.  So, how do we transition from recreation to professional world would be a proper question. 

While use of second life in health care for delivery of health services is becoming more popular, creating trust environment between patient and provider is really an important aspect to consider.  How provider would gain patient’s trust while using the second life is an appropriate question.  Like wise, provider would want to know how satisfactory is the care provided to recipient. In that relation, educating patient about what to look for, if using virtual environment to communicate with the provider is a great way to make it easier for patient to build trust. Alternatively, in person follow up appointment can help provider for the mutual trust in the patient.

In spite of some concern about using second life in doctor-patient relationships, if in correct use, it can bring new world to health care setting.  It is very convenient to share concern with provider at the comfort of own home.  Also patients are able to share concerns with other patients who have similar condition and learn from their experience.  Furthermore, patient could bring up uncomfortable issues with the provider which would be hard to share face to face.

Moreover, second life just like any other online communication has its benefits and drawbacks.  If promoted well; it can be a revolutionary mean of communication for both patient and provider, despite all the concerns about authenticity, used more frequently for leisure, and trust issues.

Critique about Health related News

Name: Sanaz Martin

Date: 10/16/10

Course: Internet and future of patient care

Module: #2

Critique about “Woman Couldn't Buy Inhaler during Asthma Attack” From My Fox New York

 “A New Jersey woman was denied an inhaler at a pharmacy because she was $1.99 short” an unbelievable story in the past week on My Fox New York discusses a woman with Asthma attack that arrived at CVS pharmacy and was short $1.99 to buy her inhaler in her way back home.  In spite of woman’s boyfriend who put forward his wallet and cell phone, they still got denied an inhaler. Finally, the boy friend had to call a friend who was a paramedic since the woman was on the floor wheezing. This News indicates how far the loss of moral value is into the root of our nation. 

“The well-being of our customers is our highest priority and we are looking into this matter” said by CVS corporate offices is a sign of absolute discrepancy between what corporate office wants to show the public what they do, and what is actually being done.  “Looking into this” is not a courteous statement to be said to the customer who could potentially face life threatening situation.  It is unclear why the store manager was not involved and why nobody was helping this couple. 

Besides the customers’ well-being, there should be customer safety protocol in place for crisis situation which is not being mentioned in this News.  What if that patient would have had died before the paramedics, or in this case a friend could get there? It would be worth while to just have sample of common inhaler for patients with breathing difficulty in place.  What happened to pharmacist’s moral value who has extensive medical education to save people’s life?

On the other hand, insurance company and business side of the story for CVS pharmacy needs to be considered.  It is probably not the first time that patient came to the CVS pharmacy and could not afford the cost of medication or was short to pay the full cost.  From the business stand point probably from time to time CVS or any business in that matter need to close eyes to moral values. However, in the case of an emergency the urgency needs to be addressed, especially if the patient has an account with the pharmacy and the cost can be dealt with in a later time.

This News reveals that in a certain situation money override people’s life or safety.  It is an eye opening News for our society.  Where do we draw line?  When do we use our moral judgment? How do we prevent these types of situation from happening over and over?

Reference:

Greag, Katherine. “Woman couldn’t buy inhaler during asthma attack” My Fox NY.com 14 Oct. 2010. <http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/new_jersey/woman-couldnt-buy-inhaler-during-asthma-attack-20101014>

Introduction

Hello everyone, my name is Sanaz Martin.  I've been a registered nurse for past 1.5 years.  I just graduated from undergraduate nursing school last year (Sacramento City College).  Nursing is my second career.  My first undergraduate study is in natural resource-Environmental engineering (Azad university- Iran- Lahijan). I just started a new job with UCdavis med-center last week and very excited to learn all about the new unit.
Health informatics is all new to me.  My plan to learn about health informatics is to apply the knowledge which I gain from this course and similar courses  in the future to my job, my thesis project and possibly research.  I am thrilled to be with you all in this course.