Do you refer patients to websites for helpful information?

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  1. Do you refer patients to websites for helpful information?

    • 95
      Yes
    • 44
      No

139 members have participated

Do you refer patients to websites for helpful information?

If you do refer patients, please feel free to share which websites you refer them to. Thanks!

I often refer pts. to websites after a diagnosis for further information. Especially sites for organizations like the AHA. Also some sites have great instructions for things like insulin admistration, which we don't always have time to effectively teach before discharge.

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I work with chronic pain patients. I try to lead them to sites that I have confidence in. Information is power and allows them to be a self advocate. It also encourages them to be a knowledgeable healthcare consumer.

Some sites I like are:

www.theacpa.org

www.painfoundation.org

www.paininfo.org

www.partnersagainstpain.com

www.aacpi.org

www.forgrace.org

I also will search for a site on a specifc topic that a patient might want more information.

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I had RNY Gastric bypass last June, very successfully.

Those who know me "before" and "after" often ask questions about the procedure, risks, benefits, etc.

I often refer them to www.obesityhelp.com, a huge website full of info, data, stories, photos, reviews of MDs and hospitals, etc.

I also refer them to OSSG at Yahoo!Groups.com, for an online support group.

I also refer my L&D patients experiencing perinatal loss to websites for online support groups.

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Specializes in Behavioral Health.

A lot of times, if I refer to a website, I will print out some of the info and ask the pts pcp if the info looks good enough to share. :rolleyes:

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Specializes in NICU.

One time I had a family whose baby had hypospadias. Out of curiosity, I did a google search for hypospadias and it turns out that theres a http://www.hypospadias.com (or was it .org?)... anyway, it was in no way a medical website! It was just a bunch of pictures of men's memberes! Big, little, black, white, circumcised, uncircumcised... I'm not sure there was any info on hypospadias!

I warned the parents NOT to go that website and to instead go to a pediatric medicine type website for info!

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

No I really do not. I just think it's not prudent, knowing how some of them may misuse or abuse the information. I prefer to keep out of that loop.

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There is too much questionable info on the web, so I am very apprehensive to refer anyone anywhere. According to my employer, the only website we are allowed to quote from or refer patients to is http://www.merck.com

I don't feel comfortable putting my license or patient safety on the line over questionable content.

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There is too much questionable info on the web, so I am very apprehensive to refer anyone anywhere. According to my employer, the only website we are allowed to quote from or refer patients to is www.merck.com

I don't feel comfortable putting my license or patient safety on the line over questionable content.

Many of my patients have been Spanish-speaking (I'm not), and I'm still a student, anyway. However, I do think websites can be great for support groups. A woman in my parish died of a rare disease, pseudomyxoma peritoni, and there are some support websites for that. Two of my favorite support websites are: 1) for depression and manic-depression: http://www.walkers.org -- for an organization called "walkers-in-darkness". It was founded, originally, in 1991 as an e-mail support list, and has grown with the web. The other is http://www.braintalk.org (actually, now at http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/ for all manner of neurological problems, or problems that might have a neurological component. It covers a very wide range of diseases/problems/conditions.

Oops -- a third -- when I was facing having a hysterectomy, I found a lot of support at: http://www.hystersisters.com .

I think one of the valuable things about support groups is when people in a support group can help advise if a member is not getting adequate or appropriate medical care-- it's not like a nurse saying something, or another doctor, and no practitioner names are mentioned.

NurseFirst

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Specializes in Community Health Nurse.

No, I do not refer patients to websites, but I will other healthcare providers if I see a site worth learning from. :)

I have admitted patients who love to tell me what "MD WebHealth" has to say about............whatever. :rolleyes: It's amazing the stuff they tell me they've learned on that site. They NOW think they are sooooooo knowledgable after reading that site. :rotfl:

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I refer my psych. patients to quality web sites frequently, for example NAMI (National Association for the Mentally Ill) and they have very useful information for patients and their families about depression, etc.

On the other hand, as we all know, almost anything can be put on the web, whether true info. or false. Sometimes my patients tell me about some of the stuff they have been buying into over the web, and then I get the chance to talk "reality." (there are a lot of scam artists on the web as well as pretty dangeroous chat rooms).

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Yes of course I like the patients and the parents that are seaking information on internet!

I have been that much of a patient myselves that I AM ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THE BEST TREATMENT!

When you have a child with feks. canser (sarkoma - the rarest one), I can understand the parents thats are using their energy as a coping mecanism; trying to find the best solution, the best doctors or treatment!

Living with multiproblematic headache: Cluster, severe Migraine and Cervicogenic headache; I know and have seen that even in university hospital, neurological unit, they dont know how to handle this! Its not that waired that I want more information! In november: Even the doc engcourages me to find out more about my headache and the term "rapid metabolism"; they hadnt heard about it, but my private neurologist thought I had that kind of syndrom! The result was that they didnt believe me!!!! But I was out of hospital until I found excactly what they should have known!

I have seen so much crazy things; both by nurses and by doctors, that I am sorry to say; I dont believe them. Or for putting it in an other way: they should never stop listening to the patients and WONDERING ABOUT THINGS THAT MAYBE IS NEW KNOWLEDGE TO THEM! NO patiens are difficult; only challenging....Am I right? I know that I can be some sort of pain in the a...., but when people is acting like that; they are afraid! They have lost control, and my NURSING SKILLS SHOULD HANDLE THAT KIND OF PEOPLE! THAT WAS WHAT I LEARNED AT NURSING SCHOOL AND MY 20 YEARS OF PRACTICING....

FLORRY :)

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Yes of course I like the patients and the parents that are seaking information on internet!

I have been that much of a patient myselves that I AM ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THE BEST TREATMENT!

When you have a child with feks. canser (sarkoma - the rarest one), I can understand the parents thats are using their energy as a coping mecanism; trying to find the best solution, the best doctors or treatment!

Living with multiproblematic headache: Cluster, severe Migraine and Cervicogenic headache; I know and have seen that even in university hospital, neurological unit, they dont know how to handle this! Its not that waired that I want more information! In november: Even the doc engcourages me to find out more about my headache and the term "rapid metabolism"; they hadnt heard about it, but my private neurologist thought I had that kind of syndrom! The result was that they didnt believe me!!!! But I was out of hospital until I found excactly what they should have known!

I have seen so much crazy things; both by nurses and by doctors, that I am sorry to say; I dont believe them. Or for putting it in an other way: they should never stop listening to the patients and WONDERING ABOUT THINGS THAT MAYBE IS NEW KNOWLEDGE TO THEM! NO patiens are difficult; only challenging....Am I right? I know that I can be some sort of pain in the a...., but when people is acting like that; they are afraid! They have lost control, and my NURSING SKILLS SHOULD HANDLE THAT KIND OF PEOPLE! THAT WAS WHAT I LEARNED AT NURSING SCHOOL AND MY 20 YEARS OF PRACTICING....

FLORRY :)

Of course its so much crazy and wrong information at the net, so as you have said earlier here: I can help them finding som reliable database; some of them mentioned by you earlier: In research you will always have to point on the materilal source; an be careful: as you had said before not everything in www is correct information! We have som learning centre with health professional connected to theese centres and they are built for the patients and their relatives, and they are doing a great job supervising them thrue the litterature, sources, databases! Every University Hospital in our country have this kind of learning centre; I must say: I am overwelmed in a positive way; that thay can supervice the patients; even me; when I was a patiensts; they were that huge kind of a help!!!

Does other countries than Norway has this learning and coping centre?

I cant imageing it a norwegian idea!

Florry :)

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