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!

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!

cdc.gov

fda.gov

local or state health dept.

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Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.

I refer them because they all look anyway but one I have found very useful is

http://www.medicinenet.com I found this explainations of illnesses very easy to understand especially on Stoke/brain injury.

check it out

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Specializes in Gen Surg, Peds, family med, geriatrics.
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 have a whole list of them, but these are the ones that I remember and/or have bookmarked on this computer.

http://www.region.halton.on.ca/health Our local health department web site

http://www.cps.ca The Canadian Pediatric Society

http://www.hystersisters.com Hystersisters, a hysterectomy advice and support forum

http://www.medbroadcast.com A Canadian medical information site

and

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/index.html The Health Canada web site.

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I work in an orthopaedic clinic and refer pts to the aaos.org for info on various orthopaedic conditions. I also use the nof.com for osteoporosis information.

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I refer patients to websites only after they've seen the MD. I feel the more knowledgeable they are the better able they are to make decisions,ask questions re: their care. :)

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Very interesting discussion both for and against website referrals to patients. I am very aware that most patients or their family have access to the Internet. I would much prefer they visit those websites that I have visited and reviewed as to content. If we do NOT refer them to legit sites, they will most likely find the worse ones on their own.

I see the patient's need to seek information on the internet as a direct result of our failure to educate the patient. When I worked in a PCP office, I made copies off the net regularly and gave them to the patients. The purpose is not to self diagnose or bypass the PCP. The patient seeks additional information so they know what MD to see, what questions to ask, and to choose treatments (when weighing the pros and cons).

The PCP cannot possibly have ALL that information and give it to the patient in a 15 minute appointment. The patient, likewise, cannot hear, store in memory, or recall everything the PCP does say.

Again, as nurses we must do our own homework and review the sites FIRST. There are many articles out there on what to look for when reviewing a website before recommending to patients. Most PCPs who understand their patients are already on the web will provide a list of recommended sites. If you work for a PCP and they do not have a list to hand to the patient, you might want to make that recommendation. This is a great way to improve your relationship with the patients - OFFER them information sources BEFORE they ask!

Thanks for an interesting discussion. Charlotte

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Look at what showed up as an advertisement on that page (granted, not something that the author endorses, but still something that a pt could very easily come across) ...

http://www.healthy-heart-books.com/

Just goes to show that you never can tell.

Dr. Rich (Richard Fogoros) MD has some wonderful resources for patients with heart disease. He is an Electrophysiologist (arrythmia specialist).

http://heartdisease.about.com/

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