BUSINESSLurking, listening, learning: Using online support groupsMany say online support groups can benefit not only patients but also physicians. Here's what you need to know before you look into -- or even start -- a group.By Tyler Chin, amednews staff. Sept. 8, 2003. Stephen Z. Fadem, MD, first logged on to an online support group as a patient. But he also recommends visiting one as a doctor. About 54% of Internet users participate in online support groups, up from 36% of Internet users in 2001, according to a recent survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. This growth is a key reason why primary care physicians with a large base of patients with chronic conditions should familiarize themselves with -- and perhaps get involved in -- an online support group, Dr. Fadem and others say. "I think spending a few minutes every once in a while going through a group is helpful and will give a physician a little more insight into what is going on with his patients and help him become a more complete physician," said Dr. Fadem, a Houston nephrologist. Dr. Fadem has participated in online support groups since 1998, after osteosarcoma metastasized to his lungs. He's doing well now, but he still posts updates on patient support groups, and he has created separate online groups for nephrologists and people with kidney disease. In addition to serving as a valuable educational tool, online groups can, in some small way, offer physicians a chance to boost their bottom lines and efficiency, say doctors who have organized groups. Daniel Hoch, MD, a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, has found that patients who previously telephoned his office with follow-up questions now often direct those questions to people using the more than 200 online forums the hospital's department of neurology has offered to the public since 1995. [...]Full text of American Medical News content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2003 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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