Medical Content Created By Patients Are In High Demand
Copyright (c) 2012 Social-medicine.org
Patients with diseases, illnesses or suspected illnesses use the Internet and social networking sites to get more information on their symptoms, to connect with others suffering from the same illness or disease, and to collaborate with others. However, the Internet is seen as an open gate environment, free for all to access and publish information. The information seen on the Internet, particularly medical content, is not all validated and may contain inaccuracies, dated information and rarely any supporting evidence.
Social networking sites in general play a role in shaping the interactive world of Web 2.0, which is defined as a dynamic means of communicating with patients globally than compared to the Internet seen in its infant stages as a resource or information gathering tool. Medical social networking sites aim to give disease and illness suffers a voice. These sites bring patients together, patients searching for answers, or simple companionship, someone that can relate to what they are going through, something they previously struggled to find or has largely disappeared from society. Advocates of medical social networking sites, largely support online health communities, as communication between friends and family on a global scale has increased.
As medical social networking sites become more popular in our modern day life. Some patients believe that the dangers are more pressing than any benefits of medical social networking sites. It can be seen that the hours per day of face-to-face communication have declined as the use of social networking has increased. Patients who use these sites frequently are prone to social isolation. For instance: parents spend less time with their children and couples spend less time together even when they live in the same house, as they are always on social networking sites instead of interacting with each other.
It is understood that disease or Illness specific forums, medical blogs and online health communities, don't know everything about diseases or illnesses but then again do all medical practitioners? However often these illness sufferers know more about themselves and how they are feeling, than any medical practitioner. Illness sufferers gain information, rightly or wrongly on treatments, products used, what is out in the market that can help them, by researching the on the internet and communicating with others in online global health communities.
Computer savvy illness sufferers use many forms of online communication, and these range from e-mail, medical blogs, live health chat, wikis and other collaborative technologies. In high demand is a one-stop shop containing all forms of communication, a single platform where patients can discuss treatments and experiences with other patients. These platforms of communication can help elevate overworked health centres, which often patients avoid as they are just that, busy and overworked. This is not to say that illness sufferers should not visit their health centre or medical practitioners, ideally it would be the first port of call, but it's not anymore, the internet is.
About the Author
Social Medicine http://www.social-medicine.org a health based social networking site, helps people suffering from many health conditions to globally connect, share information and help others in similar situations, by bridging the gap of patient-to-patient and patient-to-practitioner communication, and has all the social networking features and functionality expected by society.
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