Campus Health alerts through Twitter

Technology at Colleges/Universities:

Are Twitter Alerts for Security Issues only?

            Students across the country are able to follow the safety and security departments at their schools of higher learning simply by following the departments on twitter.  Colleges and universities signed their safety and security departments up for twitter accounts after shootings on U.S. campuses led to student injuries and deaths.  Students that sign up to follow their school on twitter can be instantly notified of a dangerous person or situation on campus.  This twitter capability can then be used to direct students and faculty of counter measures to take to help ensure the safety of the people on campus.  This is a great use of technology. 

            I would like to see campus twitter capabilities take the next step.  The health care office on campus could send out health alerts by twitter to student and faculty subscribers.  Followers would be notified of a meningitis outbreak or a flu outbreak on campus.  Immunization clinic alerts could be sent out to followers so students and faculty would have the knowledge at the touch of a fingertip of where and when they can get a seasonal flu shot.  Such information is not a top ten on most people’s search engine list, so these health alerts would bring health issues to light.

            Health tweets could be used at holidays and semester breaks to link followers with up to the minute health alerts for popular vacation spots and commercial transportation systems.  Links could be offered for health practices for disease prevention during travel and vacation.  These links would need to exclude advertisements.

            Today’s students and faculty not only have to consider the possibilities of violent campus death plots, but also need to keep in mind the silent, stealthy, unseen predators known as bacterial meningitis and community acquired MRSA (just to name two).  This twitter capability would inform student families that may be in a different location of health concerns on campus.  Campus population would be encouraged to maintain better health with the use of health twitter alerts.

Webliography

Webliography for Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

           

            March is National Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) month.  Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness for people over 60 years of age.  AMD can present itself in two different forms: wet and dry.  Dry AMD is the most common type of macular degeneration.  Wet AMD is diagnosed in only about ten percent of the people with macular degeneration.  Wet AMD is a more serious condition than dry AMD. 

            Macular degeneration affects the macula.  The macula is the part of the eye that is responsible for a person’s center or “fine” vision.  The macula is what one uses to thread a needle or read a paper, and even to see colors.  A person usually exhibits dry AMD, gradually, in one eye and the condition slowly progresses and eventually the second eye is affected.  A person with AMD may see objects as fuzzy.  Lines that are straight will look wavy.  This affects center vision only.  Peripheral vision is not affected by this condition.  Wet AMD involves bleeding in the eye.  It is an acute condition and can immediately affect the visual acuity of the involved eye.

            Heredity is one of the risk factors for AMD, which is why this condition is of interest me.  Many years ago my grandmother was diagnosed with dry macular degeneration.  She was a vibrant and active woman who became limited by the loss of her central vision.  It started when the print in books had to be in bigger font, then she relinquished her driver’s license, and the condition progressed until she went to books on tape and to listening to her favorite television shows. 

           My father was diagnosed with dry macular degeneration over a year ago.  Every spring my father and mother travel to Southern Texas for a month or two.  This year my father stated it might be the last time they travel down south due to his center vision changes.  He said he would make the final decision next fall.  He tests himself every day for visual acuity changes and realizes the day will come that he will have to retire his driver’s license.  He is not looking forward to that day.

            AMD is hereditary and more prone to affect females than males.  It occurs more often in Caucasians and people with light colored eyes.  Others factors are weight, smoking, and intake of antioxidants.  My grandmother was blue eyed and a smoker.  My father is blue eyed.  It is a concern.  I have two siblings that are blue eyed and one is female and is overweight and smokes occasionally.  This is why I chose this topic for my webliography.

            In 1985 I worked for an ophthalmologist.  I used to test people for macular degeneration.  We used to use the Amsler grid.  This is a straight-lined grid with a dot in the middle.  A person covers one eye and focuses on the dot.  Someone with macular degeneration will see wavy lines in the center of the grid or may see a fuzzy spot in the middle of the grid in advanced cases.  This simple grid is sent home with people to check their visual acuity, one eye at a time, at least one time per week.  I have also worked with a retinal surgeon.  I have seen the drusen (yellow spots) on the macula that indicate the early to intermediate stages of dry macular degeneration. 

            So go get an eye exam to celebrate Age-related Macular Degeneration month. Pupillary dilatation should be included with this exam so that the retina may be examined.  If you have family members with AMD or know someone with AMD I hope you forward these web links to them.  They can research their own disease process and find contact people at the same time.

AMD Awareness Organization

http://www.amdawareness.org

This website lists controllable and uncontrollable risk factors for AMD.  This site also has a link to find a retinal specialist in your area.

Eye on AMD

http://www.eyeonamd.com/EyeonAMD/index

This site is really neat.  It has an AMD online seminar so people can watch this to learn more about the disease.  It also has a link to tour a low vision home.  You can click on a room and it will give you tips on how to adapt your house to your reduced vision, i.e. floating a colorful item in a tub to monitor how much water has filled the bathtub.  One can find local eye seminars and find support groups.

Macular Degeneration Health

http://health.google.com/health/ref/Macular+degeneration

This is a good resource for treatments for both wet and dry AMD ranging from vitamin supplements to intraocular injections.  The many tests for AMD can be found here.  This site has links to prognosis, prevention, and complications.

Mayo Clinic reference for Macular Degeneration

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/macular-degeneration

This site gives a great explanation of macular degeneration in laypersons terms.  Symptoms are given in relatable example form.  An in depth explanation of AMD and the natural aging of the macula are given.  Easy to understand directions of how to use the Amsler grid and a PDF file download of the grid are available.   This is the only site that gives a list of symptoms that includes hallucinations.  It is a phenomenon known as Charles Bonnet Syndrome and is a symptom of severe AMD.  This site is a great resource for a newly diagnosed AMD patient.  The Mayo clinic provides a long list of causes and explanations and is the only site that provides tips for an early eye appointment.  They give examples of questions to ask the doctor and gives examples of questions the doctor may ask them.  The appointment prep section is a unique tool.

Macular Organization

http://www.macular.org

The macular organization has the usual definitions for wet and dry AMD.  This site stands out for its links to clinical trials and to studies recruiting patients.  The clinical trials site gives links to prior trial outcomes and also ongoing clinical trials.  The recruiting site for patient studies lists the study requirements and then a link to apply as a participant.

This site has an animated video that explains wet and dry AMD.  Other educational videos are available.  There is a link to support groups and a link to an online bulletin board.

National Eye Institute on Macular Degeneration

http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/maculardegen/armd_facts.asp

This is the only site that offers the option of regular, medium, and large text size as part of their home page.  Descriptions of wet and dry AMD are available with illustrations.  One link leads to current research projects and another link offers frequently asked patient questions and then the answers.

Juvenile Macular Degeneration

http://www.maculardegeneration.org/juvlong.html

This site is sponsored by Macular Degeneration International.  This website leads directly to the juvenile link rather than the homepage (which can be accessed from here).  This site had an in depth explanation of juvenile macular degeneration.  It’s actually named macular dystrophy in children and is very rare.  Often the disease is misdiagnosed in children until it has advanced to a stage where the signs and symptoms lead to a diagnosis of macular dystrophy.  Karl Stargardt first recorded signs and symptoms of this juvenile condition in 1909.  The Stargardt gene was identified in 1991.  This site offers studies and study results.  This site is recommended for the person with a medical background.  This site is not for the layperson.

My first blog post for Nursing Informatics.

I have been using Electronic Medical Records (EMR’s) since 2004, yet I am just now learning about the science behind the systems in this Nursing Informatics class. I feel like I am learning a new language due to the number of new terms I have encountered in my reading assignments. This is knowledge that I can use in my profession but would not have pursued if not for this class.
While practicing nursing I regularly use four of my five senses. For example, I use my vision to look at my patient and at monitors. I use my sense of smell to determine if a wound infection is present. I use my hearing while communicating with the patient or listening to their lungs. I use touch to communicate reassurance to my patient and their family and also for palpation. McGonicle and Mastrian (2009, p. 18) taught me that the information I gather through my senses and input into the patient’s EMR is an information system. The information I gather and input into the patient’s record is relevant to the patient’s care and the health care system has software in place to ensure the integrity of the data. I have learned that my interaction with a patient’s record is an information system.
A patient has the right to access their EMR and the right to a copy of their health record. Different facilities have policies in place that a staff member must follow for release of the record to the patient. I find the contact in the facility that has working knowledge of the information release process and work with them in obtaining chart contents for a patient. An electronic copy of the chart will remain with the originating facility. The patient owns the information contained in their health record, but do not have sole rights to the contents of their chart. Anyone accessing the medical record is electronically recorded.
I have worked with Meditech at two facilities and Epic at one facility. I like the ability to access a patient’s history from the electronic record. I can look for lab trends. I am able to easily obtain radiology results for a doctor. Whatever I access in the record is (for the most part) legible. I no longer have to call a doctor asking them to translate their written orders. I do not miss carrying around a paper chart (or multiple charts for a chronically ill patient) when transferring a patient from one department to another. I prefer the Meditech systems I have worked with over the Epic system. I find the Meditech system easier to navigate. I find the Epic system requires multiple steps to input data. I can count nine steps that are required to enter an order for a specimen that is on its way to pathology. Ordering a lab has even more steps. This is time spent with at a computer rather than with a patient.
The negative of using an EMR is that only the authorized users in that particular health system have access to a patient’s record. Computer systems between health systems do not talk to each other. President Obama has set a goal for the military and the V.A. to implement a system where a soldier’s EMR can follow them from active duty care to V.A. care. This will help with a patient’s continuity of care.

Hello world!

I am excited about starting a blog site for school.  I hope for lively discussions at this site.

Welcome!