SPRING 2011 - Baptist Health South Florida

A primer on websites
standing beyond what words alone
can impart. In addition, Internet users
can watch moderated webcasts of surgical
procedures at Baptist Health hospitals
and can even take Baptist Hospital
childbirth classes online.
Stories about real-life patients and
their treatments add personal insight
to the websites, as do blogs about
Ted Feldman, M.D.
breast cancer and weight-loss surgery.
“I hope that other people who have similar or different issues
than I did will benefit from what I write,” said Ms. Gonzalez,
46, who underwent weight-loss and gallbladder surgery last
summer and had lost 100 pounds by the new year. “This has
been life-changing for me.”
In the end, these constantly evolving virtual elements combine
with the potential to improve patient care, say Baptist
Health medical leaders.
Indeed, a 2009 Pew report titled The Social Life of Health
Information found that so-called “e-patients” reported overwhelmingly
positive experiences from seeking out health
information online. Specifically:
• 60 percent of e-patients say they or someone they know has
been helped by health information discovered on the Internet.
• 41 percent have turned to an online news group, website or
blog to read health-related commentary.
• 24 percent have gone online to
check reviews of doctors.
While the impact of online health
information already is evident, it’s just
the beginning, said Dr. Feldman and
interventional radiologist Barry
Katzen, M.D., founder and medical
director of Baptist Cardiac & Vascular
Barry Katzen, M.D.
Institute. They envision using Internet
technology to transform the way medical care is given,
once the accepted standards of care in the practice of medicine
catch up with technology.
Dr. Katzen would like to see patients receive real-time
e-reminders to take their medication, for example, because
Baptist Health’s expanding set of websites offers education
about medical conditions, treatment options and
other clinical information. Here’s a primer on Baptist
Health websites:
BaptistHealth.net and BaptistSalud.net: Baptist Health’s
home website gives an overview of the largest not-forprofit
healthcare organization in the region, with details
about Baptist Hospital, Baptist
Children’s Hospital, South
Miami Hospital, Doctors Hospital,
Homestead Hospital and
Mariners Hospital. You can
check estimated wait times at
hospital emergency centers
and Baptist Outpatient Services’
urgent care centers.
BaptistHeart.net, BaptistCorazon.net and SouthMiami-
Heart.com: Learn about cardiovascular conditions and
their treatments, from aortic aneurysms and peripheral
artery disease to structural heart defects and irregular
heartbeats. Meet the doctors and some of their patients.
Find heart-healthy recipes and interactive tools to assess
your risk, and make an appointment for a vascular
screening.
SouthMiamiWeightloss.com: Get information about
obesity, the different types of weight-loss surgery and
the process of becoming a candidate for the surgery.
You can calculate your body mass index (BMI) and read
Winning at Losing, the blog with entries from weightloss
surgery patient Helen Gonzalez, as well as members
of South Miami Hospital’s Weight-loss Surgery
Program team.
BaptistSpineCenter.com: Learn about conditions of the
back and neck, and the conservative, multidisciplinary
approach to treating back pain. Find out when minimally
invasive surgery may be the best option.
MiamiGammaKnifeCenter.com: Complete with stories
and videos of patients, this website provides details
about Gamma Knife radiosurgery — what it is (a noninvasive
treatment) and when it’s used (for certain brain
tumors, facial nerve pain, blood vessel abnormalities
and other head and neck and neurological conditions).
GetTreatedBetter.com, ConsientaseBien.com, KidsGet-
TreatedBetter.com and ConsientalosBien.com: These
sites provide details about urgent care and diagnostic
imaging tests, such as MRI, CT scan and mammography.
BreastCancerHealingJourney.com: This blog, Healing
Journeys, features posts from a breast cancer survivor
and links to cancer information.
Continued on page 6
RESOURCE 5