Monday, 13 August 2012

August 14, 2012 Clippings


Patients trust docs who carry stethoscope
Doctors sporting 'iconic' medical symbols like stethoscope during e-consultations seem to win their patient's trust, says a new Australian research.

The six-month e-health project was undertaken by researchers at the Curtin University Health Innovation Research Institute (CHIRI) and funded by Curtin's Office of Research and Development.

They investigated the process of providing e-consultations, and whether the presence of 'iconic' medical symbols like a stethoscope, surgical scrubs or a reflex hammer would help doctors build a relationship of trust online.

Medical e-consultations make use of electronic computing and communication technologies in the consultation processes, particularly when a client is unable to see a doctor face-to-face, the Journal of Medical Internet Research reports. In the study, a series of images portraying different combinations of medical tools were shown to 168 people who ranked them by how trustworthy they looked, according to a Curtin statement.

The stethoscope was ranked the most positive by participants, receiving a rating of 95 percent. Words associated with the medical device included honest, trustworthy, honourable, moral, ethical and genuine.

Moyez Jiwa, professor and head of CHIRI Chronic Disease and research leader, said the findings were particularly important to the medical field given its growth in the e-health field.

"Our research also highlighted that although the stethoscope was singularly the most trusted medical tool," Jiwa said.
14.08.2012
Bizarre – girl has ‘nails’ growing all over her body!
A medical mystery has doctors in Memphis stumped. The mystery of how a woman’s body is producing nails in place of hair all over her body has doctors worried and in the dark about its cause. Shanyna Isom, 28, suffered an allergic reaction three years ago which caused the debilitating syndrome, which has left her struggling to walk and carry out daily chores.
The university student was left covered in hard scabs as “nails” replaced the hair on her body and doctors are still in the dark about how to cure Shanyna’s mysterious illness. Isom lives with her family in Memphis and was in her first year at university when the nightmare began. In September 2009 she was prescribed steroids after suffering an asthma attack and within hours the law student was “itching” all over her body. Shanyna became bedridden as the illness took over and doctors tried to determine what was wrong.
In 2011 she began treatment in Baltimore where doctors established that the bumps were in fact human nails slowly covering Shanyna’s body. Today doctors have yet to diagnose her but have been able to control her symptoms. She relies on family and friends for financial help and they have rallied around her for support.
14.08.2012






A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds

Sir Francis Bacon

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