Orthopedic Treatments

Social Media

The intersection of social media and health care is becoming very crowded. Recent statistics reveal that 85 % of patients are utilizing the internet to research their disease, physician or health care institution. Empowered or “E”-patients have started their own communities online to review relevant literature and to share their findings when they interact with the medical community.

Human beings are innately social. Health is social. 500 Million + users on Facebook can’t all be wrong.

Empowered patients are knowledgeable, intelligent, typically prepared for their medical appointments — and they expect and demand a far higher level of service from their health care providers.

Important changes are taking place that will forever change the way the physicians and patients interact. Shared Decision Making principles, the concept of Informed Choice versus Informed Consent and the desires of the Participatory Medicine movement will dramatically alter the health care landscape.

I employ shared decision making and informed choice principles to educate you not only about your disease, but to determine a treatment plan that takes into account your desires, quality of life and values.

Healthcare 2.0

Nearly 85 percent of patients now turn to the internet for information on their ailments and their physicians. But the information available is often too commercial, too basic or lacks transparency. The coming evolution in the health care industry is referred to as Health Care 2.0 — and this will usher in a value-driven healthcare model. Values are a powerful driver of human behavior; patients’ values have never before played such a role in the surgical decision process.

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