Digital Identities for Providers and Provider Information Sources : Using IT to facilitate Information Therapy

The logical first step to creating rich Databanks of Provider Information is to create identities for Providers in the electronic world. The simplest way to do this is to Create Websites for Doctors, Clinics and Hospitals. This may not necessarily be individual websites for practices which don’t want to invest in one, but can even be simple informative single web pages to fulfill the purpose of creating an identity for them aka http://www.about.me

Such websites can be optimized to convey Services, Location and Contact Information, Medical Notes, Special Cases treated. Such optimization will help in disseminating useful provider information to people looking for the same. This isn’t advertising, it’s a service: people today face many choices and are hampered by lack of information, improving their ability to find information quickly is beneficial to them. 

For those Practices and Practioneers who decide to engage IT to create digital identities (web sites), the following guidelines must be provided: 

-- On your website, don’t only talk about you, tell the patients more about what diseases and disabilities you treat, what are the latest treatments, generic advice and maybe even help them going to right person if you weren’t involved. 

-- Use tools like interactive patient forms which can be filled before the patient arrives at the center

-- Use query forms on the website so that patients can ask you about their problems and doubts; this gives the feeling to your patients that you are available to them 24/7 without actually being there 

As was the case with Medical Information Sources, Advancements in Social Technology will provide new ways for sharing Provider Information. 

Technology Vendors must provide easier ways for Provider information to be located and searched and which is available of different types of media.

-- Create Directories of Providers based on Provider Information

-- The Directories allow for Feedback on providers in a controlled environment

This is the 3rd Article in a series of Articles on Using IT to facilitate Information Therapy by Nrip Nihalani and Aditya Patkar