A growing number of people are turning to the Internet for mental-health counseling via instant messaging, e-mail exchanges or videoconferencing. Proponents of the trend cite convenience and anonymity as driving factors, but some mental-health professionals say the lack of face-to-face contact undermines meaningful therapy.
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, CA, uses the Packard Kids Connection Web site to prepare children for their stays at the facility. Nurses at Packard say the high-tech tool is invaluable when it comes to giving kids a sense of control and allaying their fears about the mysteries of surgery. The nurses also see the benefits of the Web site among teen patients, who they say seem more prone to worry and fearing worst-case scenarios.
Online second-opinion services offer patients consultations from specialists based on the medical records that they fax, mail or send via the Internet. The average cost is $500 to $1,500, depending on the number of radiology or pathology interpretations required. Patients then receive online access to a second opinion in about two weeks. One company that offers the service is Partners Online Specialty Consultations. Since POSC went online in 2001, about 10,000 patients have taken advantage of the service.
An increasing number of hospitals are using Web-based scheduling systems for their nurses and other shift employees. Statistics show at least 300 hospitals across the country are using them, and hundreds more are likely to start within the next year or two. Hospitals using the systems say one of the biggest benefits of the Internet-scheduling system, both in money saved and quality of service, has been a sharp reduction in the hospitals' use of outside nurses.
The University of Kansas Hospital has implemented an electronic medical records system in its emergency department, giving doctors access to information such as tests and medications patients have received at KU Hospital and at KU Med West. The ER installation marks the latest phase of KU Hospital's three-year implementation of a $50 million electronic medical records system. The hospital already has installed the system in its inpatient rooms and recently expanded the system to its outpatient care facility at KU Med West.
Federal regulators are preparing to announce plans to allow digital prescribing of restricted medications, easing a barrier to widespread adoption of the technology. The proposal from the Drug Enforcement Administration comes as Congress appears likely to pass a bill that would push doctors to switch to electronic prescriptions from written ones. Together, the likely bill and the DEA shift may finally lead to widespread adoption of e-prescribing. Many doctors have been reluctant to purchase the technology because of concerns including cost and DEA restrictions.