One way I’m using Twitter is to link to recent research relating to patient and family education. For example, here are Tweets I have scheduled to appear in the coming week:

http://tinyurl.com/27cz654 Relationship between treatment adherence and clinical outcomes in patients on maintenance hemodialysis. #nursing

http://tinyurl.com/2fyxueo Addressing patients’ concerns about pain management and addiction risks. #patienteducation #nursing #healthcare

http://tinyurl.com/2fzkope No, you need a conversation to ensure understanding. #healthliteracy #evidencebasedmedicine #healthcare

http://tinyurl.com/27o5jwt Patients’ beliefs about the cause of their depression: only 3.6% stated biological reasons. #patienteducation

http://tinyurl.com/235oroy Comprehensive discussions about chronic medications are uncommon in routine practice. #evidencebasedmedicine

http://tinyurl.com/2embdxo Health literacy screening questions can be used to triage patients at risk for not reading. #healthliteracy #pted

http://tinyurl.com/29ckgvs Postoperative patient education: what type of approach and mode, and at what dose? #patienteducation #surgery

Are you using Twitter now? If so, follow me @notimetoteach. Let me know what your Twitter handle is, too, so I can follow you.

If you want to learn more about Twitter, you can download the booklet, Twitter for Beginners from http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/02/ebook-twitter-for-beginners/

Suddenly, I felt like I had a functional literacy problem. I understood the word “native.” I understood the word “files.” But I had no idea what a “native file” was. I didn’t even have a guess. I did not want to make a mistake, so I emailed the requestor and asked for a definition. I got a polite and helpful response.

For those of you who don’t know, when they said “no native files” they actually meant “send files in the PDF format.” (Or, I learned later from a friend, maybe a JPG would qualify.) A native file is a file that is still in the format of the program in which it was created, like a Word document or a Keynote slide show.

In this situation, I may have experienced what some of our patients sometimes feel like. The words sound familiar, but they have no idea what we are talking about. They have no idea what they are supposed to do. They don’t want to make a mistake — especially if it could physically hurt them. But it’s hard to admit you don’t understand, especially when it’s presented in a way that implies, “Of course you understand this. It’s simple.”

Another reason to ask patients to teach back what we teach them.

©2010 Fran London

http://www.guidelines.gov/resources/patient-education.aspx

You see the risk for lack of follow-up. How can you intervene?
Ask the patient to take our his or her cell phone, and enter the telephone number in it now. This both ensures the patient has the number, and reinforces the importance of continuing care.

Then let the technology do more of the work! Rather than looking for information, have it come to you. Last November I described RSS feeds and how to use them (What is that RSS orange box for?). In March I told you how to get RSS feeds and email updates from a number of federal government sites (Stay ahead of your patients).

Now here’s another suggestion. What topic do you care about? Diabetes? Heart disease? Health literacy? Patient education? The use of social networking in health care delivery? You can have Google search the Internet on that topic for you automatically, and send you regular updates.
— Go to www.google.com/alerts
— Enter your search term
— Choose the types of sites you want searched, such as just “news” or “everything.”
— Choose how often you want updates.
— Choose the length of the email you want to receive.
— Enter the email address where you want the updates to be sent.

Then all you have to do is check your email when you get a chance, scan it for something that suits your needs, and click on the link for details. If you find many of the sites it pulls are not appropriate, redefine your search terms. And, if you find your interests change, just discontinue that alert. Another free, easy, helpful, effective, and efficient use of technology.

This is an easy-to-read booklet for patients to help them care for themselves when they leave the hospital. This guide provides a way for them to track their medication schedules, upcoming medical appointments, and important phone numbers. It has cues and blanks for information the patient needs to know to optimize self-care after discharge. It can be used by both hospital staff and patients during the discharge process.

Every patient should bring a copy of this to the hospital. Planned hospitalization? Getting ready for surgery? Pack this in your bag.

Your patient doesn’t have one? Here’s where you can get it: http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/goinghomeguide.htm

The link: Health Information in ASL (American Sign Language) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/asl.html

Well, the Department of Human Services of the State Government of Victoria, Australia, is sharing their intervention to meet this need. They have posted on their website downloadable cue cards with pictures and captions in English and a number of foreign languages. These can be used to facilitate brief point-to-the-picture communications, like “I need to go to the bathroom” or “I need to pray now.” I can’t begin to list all the languages available, but they include Spanish, Burmese, Karen, Macedonian, Dinka, and Croatian. There’s also a cue card in English only, just in case they don’t have a language you need, or if that language is not written.

I ran these cue cards by two professional interpreters who found a few typos and errors. The cue card labeled as Yiddish is actually in Hebrew. Some pictures are not clear. I think the tired picture looks more sick than tired, and the water is a tad too orange for my taste. But the interpreters and I still felt these could be better than using nothing.

Here’s the link:

Health Translations Directory Cue Cards
http://www.healthtranslations.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcht.nsf/PresentDetail?Open&s=Cue_Card

Here’s a painless way to have the latest evidence-based information, specific to your clinical area, come to you. You can now customize your e-mails or RSS-feeds based upon your particular interests. Here are their instructions:

You can go to any of the health topic pages in MedlinePlus and subscribe to updates right from the page. There are over 800 topics in English, over 770 topics en español, and a variety of other health-related e-mail lists in English and Spanish. To see how it works, go to the Diabetes page at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/diabetes.html, and look for the box under the summary section where you can enter your email address.

You can also visit the MedlinePlus subscription options pages for MedlinePlus and MedlinePlus en español. Whenever MedlinePlus adds new information on a topic page to which you are subscribed, you will receive an e-mail alert to notify you of the new materials. To set your subscription options, click on the “E-mail Updates and RSS” link on the lower right side of the home page. (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/listserv.html)

This service is also offered by other agencies, like
The CDC

http://www.cdc.gov/emailupdates/index.html

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

http://www.nih.gov/email.htm

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

http://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/index.cfm/join-the-email-list1/

and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/ContactFDA/StayInformed/GetEmailUpdates/default.htm

Have the news you choose come to you! Our tax money at work.