Twitter....To Use or Not To Use??

Hey everyone,
So in class this week the subject was microblogging, AKA twitter. One of the first things our professor asked was our exposure with twitter and our thoughts about its usefulness. I was first to say that I thought it was not useful and I would never have even opened a twitter account if it wasn't part of my grade in that class. As the lecture went on, the professor was eager to show me how wrong I was. By the end of the lecture, and with a little research of my own, my quick response has changed. I do see the benefits of twitter in the health care industry. It is the quickest way to get information out to such a large population or funds to support a natural disaster fund. The key, I'm seeing, is the people you choose to follow. See I heard about twitter when it first came out from the celebrities on tv...."follow me on twitter to know what I'm wearing, or see who my latest crush is"...and so on and so forth. Thus I always associated twitter as a useless site solely devoted to the minute by minute thoughts of people who don't matter. However, twitter is and can be used for much more than that. There was an article mentioned in class, that I posted below, about how surgeons are now tweeting play by play of operations so that colleagues and students can learn from live surgical procedures. Twitter can also be used when a physician can not figure out a diagnosis or a proper treatment plan. The doctor can tweet the patient case and get help from other physicians who may be more experienced. Of course there are negatives that come from using twitter like this, wrong diagnosis, drug dose, sensitive information leakage, the list could go on and on. I guess my point is that there is a use for twitter in the health care industry, however I still can't see myself taking part of it once this course is over...
http://articles.cnn.com/2009-02-17/tech/twitter.surgery_1_twitter-and-facebook-social-networking-site-twitter-tweeted?_s=PM:TECH

Mobile Health in the Middle East

Hey all,
I came across an interesting article that talked about the growing use and benefits of mHealth in the Middle East. According to a UAE report in the article, "93% of them believe that the mobile health industry can improve the quality and availability of health care in the Middle East." It talked about different apps such as "faselty, an app which aims to make it easy to connect blood donors with people in need, on the go. Another example available in Egypt is Es3efny, providing a means of communication between ambulances and hospitals, using the Android platform." Also in Egypt, they are launching an app called mobile baby which allows doctors to send ultrasound images and results directly to their phones from the machine. With the ever growing population of smart phone users, and the new technologies they will be able to provide the whole as a whole, not just the middle east, will benefit tremendously. I posted the full article below...
http://thenextweb.com/me/2011/10/31/mobile-health-has-huge-potential-in-the-middle-east-industry-study-says/

Robots in the hospital....

Hello all,So my first day of rotations at columbia hospital was new and exciting for many reasons, but most of all I was pleasantly surprised that I would be working hand in hand with a robot named Roxane. She wasn't a dispensing robot like I had seen before, she was a delivery robot. We would make the meds and when we were all done Roxane would come pick them up and deliver them to the floors of our choosing. I know it may seems naive or child-like, but there is nothing more entertaining to me than walking into an elevator that Roxane is riding along with me....Healthcare technology is advancing everyday, there are robots that operate complex surgeries, dispense and deliver medications, among many other things. Most people would be scared that the advances in technology might replace their jobs, but I think it has just made our world that much easier. I no longer will have to run around columbia delivering all the medications to the different floors, Roxane has now taken that burden away. I came across an article that talks about the advances in technology within the medical arena. Its interesting and relevant so I posted the link. Check it out if that's your cup of tea...
http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.ezproxylocal.library.nova.edu/hww/results/results_single_fulltext.jhtml;hwwilsonid=H11GF3KO4VIU1QA3DKDSFGOADUNGIIV0

When did social media stop being social?

Hello all,
So today I had an interesting lecture on the topic of eprofessionalism. We were discussing whether employers should use information found on social media sites about prospective new hires in there hiring decisions. I was against it. I have always lived by the rules of separating my work life from my social life, and I would think it to be unfair if I was to not be hired just because I was at a social event drinking or said a sarcastic statement to a friend that was taken out of context. After class, I came across an interesting article about people being fired for things said on their social media sites. Really, when did social media sites stop being social. So if I took anything away from that lecture it was... Privacy Setting are key! Use them!....Or find another way to keep in touch with old friends. Here's the article if your interested. http://www.lexisnexis.com.ezproxylocal.library.nova.edu/hottopics/lnacademic/?verb=sr&csi=299488&sterms=PUBLICATION(Giving+Business+to+Social+Media)

Text Messaging and Social Media with Asthma Patients

Hello all,
I had a lecture not too long ago about the use of social media and text messaging in Diabetes patients. I think it is a wonderfull idea if used properly and with the right technology. I came across an article with the same concept except used within the Asthma patient population. Below is the link to the full article if anyone is interested. I am excited too see the future of disease state management technology and its impact on the younger patient populations.
http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxylocal.library.nova.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=224eac42-ca67-4f9d-8054-3f66aa0f5015%40sessionmgr12&vid=4&hid=19

Electronic Cigarettes

Are electronic cigarettes considered a medical device? There's much controversy over this topic, and whether or not they are truly a safe alternative to actually smoking. I personally believe there should be more studies on the safety and efficacy of electronic cigarettes. I personally know people that utilize electronic cigarettes to  wean themselves off cigarettes and I was curious to know if that actually was a safer alternative. I conducted a PubMed search and was surprised at the lack of evidence to either conclusion. There have been studies that suggest it is a good tool to help a smoker transition into a nonsmoker but no answer to whether they are safe or not. The FDA did a quick analysis on electronic cigarettes and found possible carcinogens but mentioned that they have not been submitted for FDA evaluation or approval. So as of now I'd have to say that they would not be considered a medical device, but look forward to more information about it in the future.
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm173327.htm

First time blogger....

Hello world. My name is Shana and I am a 3rd year pharmacy student at NSU. I am a novice to say the least at blogging but will try and make my blogs as interesting as possible. I have never been good at keeping up with all the new forms of social media, which is why I decided to take a class called Health Informatics Web 2.0. I now have a twitter account and, by the end of this post, my own blog. Health Informatics is something that interests me, and with this blog I hope to gain more knowledge on the topic and share what I've learned. Till next time....