Resources

References

Computer Basics: Understanding The Cloud. (n.d.). Goodwill Community Foundation. Retrieved November 4, 2017, from https://www.gcflearnfree.org/computerbasics/understanding-the-cloud/1/

Epic Tutorials. (2015). How To Google Like A Pro! Top 10 Google Search Tips & Tricks. Retrieved November 04, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0DQfwc72PM

Hoffman, C. (2017). What’s the Difference Between a Modem and a Router? How-to Geek. Retrieved November 04, 2017, from https://www.howtogeek.com/234233/whats-the-difference-between-a-modem-and-a-router/

How to Evaluate Health Information on the Internet (2011). National Institutes of Health. Retrieved from https://ods.od.nih.gov/Health_Information/How_To_Evaluate_Health_Information_on_the_Internet_Questions_and_Answers.aspx

James, J. (2012). 10 things you have to know to be computer literate. TechRepublic. Retrieved November 04, 2017, from https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-things/10-things-you-have-to-know-to-be-computer-literate/

Johnsen, L. (2017). How to Choose Heath Apps. NC Health Info. UNC Health Sciences Library. Retrieved from http://www.nchealthinfo.org/how-choose-health-apps.

What is a patient portal? (2015). HealthIT.gov. Retrieved from https://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/faqs/what-patient-portal

Online Support Groups

Online Support Groups

About online support groups

Support groups can be a useful tool for those who seek to find others with their same diagnosis. They can provide people with the feeling they are not alone in their diagnosis, provide hope through others' stories, provide insight and information on their diagnosis, and provide a network of people you can talk with to release frustrations and talk about ideas. There are also support groups for caregivers, as this can be challenging in different ways. Before the internet, support groups were limited to in person discussions only. But with the internet, online support groups are able to connect a wider range of people from the comfort of their own homes. 

How do I choose a support group? 

Some support groups are better than others. When looking for a support group, choosing one associated with a foundation or organization is often a good idea. Some bigger hospitals now have their own online support groups as well, so ask your local hospital if they have a resource like this. 

Confidentiality concerns 

Confidentiality is a concern with anything posted on the internet. Many online support groups have confidentiality agreements with their participants that they should be in a private area and not disclose the things other people talk about. However, this is your health information, which you may or may not want certain people to know about. It is up to you what you want to disclose in these groups. Take steps to only use your first name, or you can use a made up name to further protect your privacy.

Some useful online support groups

https://www.cancercare.org/tagged/caregiving 

This website provides a list of specific support groups available for those who are struggling with a cancer diagnosis or someone close to them is. Some of the specific groups are for those with brain tumors, a child diagnosed with cancer, or someone with pancreatic cancer. 

 

https://community.diabetes.org/home

This website is for those who have a Type 1, Type 2 or Pre-Diabetes diagnosis.

https://supportnetwork.heart.org/

This website is for those who have heart disease as well as related diagnosis such as stroke, congenital heart defects, pediatric heart conditions, or for the caregivers of people with these conditions. 

https://adaa.org/adaa-online-support-group

This website is for those who are struggling with depression or anxiety. 

https://www.recovery.org/forums/

This website is for those who are struggling with addiction to drugs and/or alcohol.

Technology Tips

Do you ever get frustrated with technology and not being able to access information in the way you want? With all this health information at your fingertips, it's important to understand some basic computer skills to be able to navigate these resources. Technology can be tricky to learn, but this basic list of computer skills will get you on your way to understanding it a little better!

• Internet Service Providers These are companies that provide internet access for the home or business. They charge for their services and come into your home to provide access to the internet. Depending on what you want you want in your home, your service can include Broadband (connection is through wires) or WiFi (connection is wireless). Most devices now use wireless connection. The companies that provide these services are different from area to area, but most areas in the country have access to companies who provide some form of internet connection.

• Modems and Routers A modem is the device that connects your home to the outside internet. A router is a device that connects from the modem to the devices in your home. Sometimes the modem and router are within the same device and sometimes they are separate. The internet service provider will set these up for you when they connect internet to your home. 

• Web Browsers There are many web browsers available to use free of charge. Some of these include Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge. The web browser is the platform from your computer to the internet. Any of the browsers mentioned will work well for internet access. Once the browser is open, you can type any web address into the address bar at the top of the page. This will take you directly to the website you choose.  

• The Cloud This is a relatively new feature of the internet. Storing something in the cloud simply means that your information is stored on the internet, and not on your computer's hard drive or other physical location. The benefits of using cloud storage is being able to access this information from anywhere, virtually unlimited storage and being able to back up the data on your computer, and you can also share files with others easily. Google Drive is a popular example of cloud storage where you can store and share photos, files, and documents. 

• Search Engines These are useful tools in being able to search information on the internet. Google, Yahoo and Bing are all good options when looking for a reliable search engine. Once at the search page, just type in your search subject matter and it will return with results with the most applicable listed at the top. You can be general or specific with your search. Type in only keywords or a whole sentence and you can find information on the topic of your choice. The video below has some tips on using Google.  

Selecting Health Apps

In our new world filled with technology there is almost literally an app for everything. Want to track your calories? There's an app for that. Want to get a suggested list of exercises to complete in the gym? There's an app for that. Want to keep track of all the places you have pooped? Believe it or not, there's an app for that.

In a world filled with technology and applications it is easy to find that app that suits your health needs. The hard part lies in finding a reliable app to fit your needs. Well we are here to help you out.

Questions to ask before trusting an app

Similar to evaluating a website, there are several questions you should ask before trusting an application. Here are some suggested questions to ask.

• What is the source of the information contained in the app? Reliable applications should cite their sources, and they should be reliable sources. You may have to do a little digging but start by looking in the description section before downloading an application. Reliable apps should be obtaining their information from reliable sources. Those could include peer reviewed journals, published studies, from government or university agencies or credible medical professionals. 
• What did other people think of this application? Start by reading reviews. Customer reviews are available in the app stores. This allows you to see if users had major issues or concerns with the application. This could help with your evaluation process.
• When was the last time this application was updated? Reliable application developers should be updating the application often. This allows for the information to be up to date, new features to be added, and bugs to be fixed. If the app was recently and frequently updated, it is more likely to be reliable. 
• What is the overall look and purpose of the application? Does the app claim to do something that is too good to be true? Does it have simple spelling and grammar errors? Does it claim to diagnose, treat and cure diseases? If you answered yes to any of these questions, it would be wise to not download and trust the app. 
• What is contained in the privacy policy? Reliable applications should explicitly explain what they do with the information you enter. As a general rule they should not share your information and should not ask for money. It should explain the confidentiality policy and application securtity clearly.

Suggestions for reliable health applications

• My Fitness Pal - https://www.myfitnesspal.com/
• Fitbit - https://www.fitbit.com/app
• Health app - https://support.apple.com/en-us
• Map my fitness - http://www.mapmyfitness.com/app/
• American Heart apps (several) - https://itunes.apple.com/us/developer/american-heart-association/id441987817

Personal Health Records

Wouldn't it be nice if there was a website available that had all of our health records stored and available in one place? If it had notes from our doctor visits including lab results, vital signs and recommendations made? Well there is just such as thing. It is known as a patient portal.

Once set up all you need is a username, password and internet connection and you have access to all of your health information. This could include doctor visits, discharge summaries, medications, immunization records, allergies, lab results etc. Some portals even allow patients to request prescription refills, update contact information, make payments, complete forms online, contact providers and have access to patient education material.

Benefits of Patient Portals

• All health information is in one convenient place
• Hospital stays can be stressful, making it hard to really take in all the education they provide you. With patient portals you can go back at a time convenient for you and review the information and recommendations provided to you. You can see the medication changes that were made and really review what they taught you.
• Improved patient engagement- You as the patient are more involved in your care because you have access to your health information and can review it often. In addition, education is available in the portal. All of this leads to more understanding allowing for better patient engagement. You are able to ask more appropriate questions and communicate more effectively with your provider.
• In many patient portals, appointment reminders are available, reducing the number of missed appointments which in turn improves your quality and timeliness of care. 
• Reduced number of phone calls. Patient portals reduce the number of phone calls you have to make and take. Many questions that previously required a phone call to the doctor can now be answered through the portals. Patient testing and lab results can now be transmitted through the portal, no longer requiring secure phone calls to pass results along.

Limitations of Patient Portals

• Can be time consuming and confusing to set up initially
• Remembering and managing passwords
• Forgetting to check the portal for results

Security and Confidentiality Concerns

When using patient portals be sure to use caution. Protect your username and password. Change your password at regular intervals. Be aware of when and where you are logging in to access your information and do not share information with people who do not need to know your personal health information. Practice caution when communicating with people through the portal to be aware with whom you are communicating. 

Other Options

If patient portals don't seem to be the best option for you, it is still important to track your own personal health records. Some possible benefits of tracking health records include

• More accurate information is available for doctors visits. It is nearly impossible to remember all your health information and when it took place. If you use technology and applications to assist in your tracking, you have exact times and numbers stored when your doctor asks questions allowing for more accurate and timely care.
• Better evaluation of effectiveness. If you are starting a new medication or are implementing a new diet plan, you will be able to more accurately analyze results if you are recording your health information. This will be very effective in determining if the new medication or diet plan is right for you and producing the desired effects. 
• More realistic view of results and habits - Often we don't pick up on gradual trends or changes until we begin recording them. If we are keeping track of our blood pressures, we may not notice and increase in 20 or so points over a couple months if we are not recording and paying attention because the change is so gradual. If we have record of the past three months of Blood pressure results it is easy to see that the results are trending upward and it might be a good idea to make a doctors appointment. This is true also with eating habits. We may not realize how many calories we are consuming until we begin recording. This could lead to healthier eating habits and improved overall health.

Examples of Patient Portals and Health tracking methods

• https://www.nextmd.com
• https://www.healthportalsite.com
• https://id.patientfusion.com/signin
• Health app - www.apple.com
• My Fitness Pal - https://www.myfitnesspal.com

Evaluating Health Websites

We've all been there. We have some medical questions but these questions may not be serious enough to go to a doctor just yet or we want to do a little more research before we make our appointment, so where do we turn? The internet of course. The internet is an amazing thing. We now have all of this information at our fingertips. Our problem now is that we have too much information. It is now our job to determine if the information we are looking for is reliable. Anyone has the ability to post information on line, so when we are searching for information, we want to be sure we are trusting information that is from a credible, qualified and reliable source. So how do we do that. We have got some tips to help determine if a health website is reliable as well as some suggested websites we know are the real deal.

Tips for evaluating health websites

• Reliable health websites should make it easy for you to determine who the author. It could be an organizations such as the American Red Cross or an individual such as Bob T. Smith, MD.
• Websites should make the credentials known of the individuals who wrote or reviewed the information.
• Reliable websites should not ask for personal information and if it does it should explain exactly what the information will be used for as well as provide a privacy policy for you to review that should include what they will not do with your information.
• Webpages that are reliable should not have any major grammar or spelling issues. If common words are mis-spelled or capitalized in a strange way, do not trust the information.
• Evaluate the overall appearance and user friendliness of the website. Does it look professional. It is organized, clean and easy to navigate? Does the page have multiple pop ups or attention grabbing features?

Questions to ask before trusting a webpage

• Who is the owner and operator of the website?
• Who is paying for the website?
• What is the purpose of this web page? If the website has an about us tab, check it out.
• When was the information last updated and reviewed?
• How does the website support the information and document it's support?
• What is the websites original source of information? If it is an article does it have cited sources readily available?
• What information does the web page collect and why?
• Are there any governmental or organizational agencies that are regulating the website's information?

Reliable health information websites

• https://www.cdc.gov/
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/
• http://www.learntobehealthy.org/
• http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/
• https://www.nih.gov/
• https://medlineplus.gov/
• http://www.redcross.org/