Public Health Informatics

Contents

Twitter review..

Equity & Health.

Digital Health.

Telemedicine Journal

Telemedicine in Australia.

1. Twitter Review

Social media is a tool which is used by people all around the world to connect to each other. It helps individuals to send messages, emails, and pictures to another individual. It also helps people to put across their point of views, thoughts and feelings. One such very famous social media platform is Twitter. Twitter was established in the year 2006 and since then it is used by people to interact with each other. With that, it is also being utilized by health care professionals and researchers so that they can inform people about health-related matters and can perform their experiments (Sinnenberg et al., 2017). In this assignment, three Twitter accounts will be discussed which post-health-related information and data on their Twitter handle but with that, the use of Twitter will be critiqued as a social media tool which is being utilized for informed public health informatics field.

Equity & Health

The first Twitter account which is taken for the study is named as Equity & Health. In their feed, they have shared posts which are related to COVID-19 and its vaccine, pandemic situation and news about the curfew in multiple cities of the world, pandemic fatigue and so on. By observing the account, it can be seen that they are very much focused on the innovations and developments that are going around the coronavirus. On their account, they have provided the information about the successful vaccine trails and the latest news about the infection such as COVID-19 patients are facing the signs and symptoms of it after months of being contracting (Equity & Health, 2020). With that, they have also retweeted other pages tweets which are discussing coronavirus and the problems which are associated with it. For example, they have retweeted information which states the global burden of the disease. They have also shared images from the Twitter page of the World Health Organization which informs about COVID-19 disease and herd immunity (Equity & Health, 2020). Equity & Health Twitter account has also shared the latest news from pages line CNN which mentions about the global rise in severe illnesses combined with COVID-19. They have also provided their followers with facts and figures which help them to track the number of COVID-19 cases. In addition to that, they have given knowledge about how to save oneself from the pandemic and how to prepare for future challenges (Equity & Health, 2020). Therefore, it can be said that the Twitter account of Equity & Health is currently focused on the updates of coronavirus disease and is providing the people with relevant and current information so that they can protect their health while the pandemic is going on. By giving the updates on the present problems, they are ensuring that people will know the facts rather than false news.

Digital Health

The second Twitter account which is taken for the study is named as Digital Health. On this account feed, health information is shared which is linked to technology. They have tweeted about digital health company and the people's investment in it. Also, they have mentioned about the COVID-19 and the IT barriers which are faced by the healthcare provider and the patients (Digital health, 2020). With that, they have given the information about Tunstall healthcare investment which could save and protect people who are vulnerable during the time of winters. Digital health has also posted updates about hospitals of the world and COVID-19. They have informed their followers about COVID-19 app which can be used to get suggestions when one person is exposed to coronavirus. They have also mentioned on their feed about the use of excel sheet which can hold the data of tests that are performed for COVID-19 (Digital health, 2020). In addition to that, on the feed of Digital Health, they have given information about online consultation platform which can be accessed by the patients. They have also focused on data which states about the surgical robots which are of next-generation and that they help doctors with surgeries. Digital Health also highlighted the usage of apps for example Microsoft teams and so on. Therefore, it can be said that the Twitter account of Digital Health has paid attention to health and technology. They have posted current news so that people could be benefitted in times of coronavirus pandemic (Digital health, 2020). The account generally links healthcare to technology so that people could access the facilities by sitting at different places in the world. They are focused on digital communications between the patient and the healthcare provider and thus also give knowledge about the apps which could be used to maintain the wellbeing of the community and the people.

Telemedicine Journal

The third Twitter account which is taken for the study is named as Telemedicine Journal. In their feed, they have mentioned about the evaluation of telepharmacy services while the pandemic is going on. They have also provided the solution for remote patient monitoring so that COVID-19 could be managed at home. They have also highlighted teleconsultation in the times of coronavirus. In addition to all of this, they have shared studies and research which is performed on or associated with coronavirus. They have also retweeted information about webinars which talks about the future of telemedicine's and COVID-19. With that, telemedicine journal has reposted the post of Dell medical school which discusses physicians who practice telemedicine in the times of pandemic and whether they want to continue doing that forever or not (Telemedicine Journal, 2020). They have also paid attention to childhood stress due to coronavirus and how telemedicine can help with that and videoconferences and the treatment of depression. Furthermore, the account also provides multiple articles related to telemedicine to their users which can be helpful to them during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have also posted about the surveys such as patient satisfaction with telehealth obstetric services and so on (Telemedicine Journal, 2020). Therefore, it can be said that, at present, the handle of the telemedicine journal is focused on coronavirus and the issues faced by patients and how telemedicine or telehealth could improve their health status. The account is very useful as it also gives users the information about the current researches that are going on which involves telemedicine. This Twitter account is providing innovative solutions in the care of the patients’management of records. They are also posting updates about peer-reviewed applications, product reviews and industry news (Telemedicine Journal, 2020). Hence, by giving such data and knowledge they are enhancing the wellbeing of the people so that they can remain informed about the happenings related to telemedicine and health.

Twitter could be used as an effective social media tool so that it can be utilized for informed public health informatics. It can facilitate health promotion activities by highlighting the main issues which poses threat to the population or on the people of the community. It could also be facilitated in making awareness about issues that affect people (Donelle, L., & Booth, 2012). People could also use this platform to share or convey health-related information and their own experiences. With the help of Twitter, individuals could also communicate about reports and surveys which are done so that the health of the people could be promoted. This platform could be utilized for raising funds which could further enhance the medical services. In addition to that, researchers could make use of Twitter to find participants for their studies (Donelle, L., & Booth, 2012). Moreover, Twitter also makes research work more accessible to the people and the interested people could gain insight into the performed research. Therefore, it can be said that Twitter is a very useful platform as it promotes research and disseminates information to everyone so that public health could be positively effective (Klar et al., 2020). However, with some advantages, there are also disadvantages of Twitter such as the risk of breaching of privacy and confidentiality, posting of unprofessional content and unfollowing of ethical principles by the healthcare professionals and the researchers (Donelle, L., & Booth, 2012). In the survey performed, it was founded that 20% of the information which is uploaded on Twitter about healthcare is incorrect. Thus, it promotes the transfer of misinformation among the people which creates barriers in a helpful and productive discussion on Twitter. With that, there is no system available on Twitter which can check the information which is uploaded for the people to see. Also, Twitter could be echo chambers of ideas which shows the opinion which is commonly shared rather than the facts. Therefore, twitter if not used properly could damage the public health (Pershad et al., 2018).

In the conclusion, it can be said that health promotion can be done effectively with the use of Twitter. The example of this is presented by three Twitter handles which promote the wellbeing of the people by sharing relevant information about various topics which are associated with the health of people around the globe. The name of the Twitter accounts is Equity & Health, Digital Health and Telemedicine Journal. Also, Twitter could be used as an effective tool for health promotion by fundraising and other activities and it could also be used for spreading misinformation among people.

2. Telemedicine in Australia

Telemedicine is a method of addressing patients and their problems by sitting afar from them. It includes making use of electronic technology which would make possible the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of the patient (Romanick-Schmiedl& Raghu, 2020). The method aims to provide care to the diseased individual with safety and effectiveness. The mode also involves the exchange of information via cell phones, patient portals and tablets (Romanick-Schmiedl& Raghu, 2020). Thus, in this assignment, barriers towards the telecommunication would be checked and they would be further categorized in information communication technology (ICT) and management issues. After that, for key barriers suggestions and recommendations would be provided to overcome them.

Telemedicine is explained by the World Health Organization as the deliverance of healthcare services from a distance with the help of electronic medium for the purpose of diagnosis of the diseases and prevention of the illnesses and injuries. It also delivers research and education which is related to healthcare of the people. Thus, telemedicine improves and promote the health of individuals and community members (Serper& Volk, 2018). The patient or diseased individual is being provided by assistance with the help of healthcare professionals by utilizing the communication sources like computers, cellphones and other devices. People could acquire help with the use of video conferences with a clinician or the healthcare practitioner. Telemedicine could be of multiple types. They are televisits, telemonitoring, telesupervision, teleconsultation, remote education and technology which aids in the purpose of research (Serper& Volk, 2018). Telemedicine has been extensively used for the treatment of chronic liver disease, hepatitis C and surgical management. In addition to that, it is also used to support the management and evaluation of hepatocellular carcinoma. Remote monitoring interventions are also provided to patients who are not able to come to the hospitals because of weakness or other problems. Therefore, it can be said that telemedicine can be employed as a promising method which could enhance the patient wellbeing and would facilitate them in remote access to healthcare (Serper& Volk, 2018).

The first barrier which prevents the uptake of the telemedicine in Australia is the lack of high-bandwidth internet in rural settings (Scott Kruse et al., 2018). The people who are living in the rural area generally cannot access the high-quality internet because the bandwidth which is provided to them is low. Thus, they cannot make use of telemedicine as the quality of the internet will cause a problem in connecting to the healthcare professional who is sitting in a different part of the country or world. With that, rural people generally do not have modern equipment as compared to the people who live in cities. Therefore, they make use of outdated equipment which further caused the problem in connecting with the healthcare professional (Scott Kruse et al., 2018). With that, people of the rural community lack the knowledge of using telemedicine properly and hence, they require help and education so that they can make appropriate use of it. The other barrier is that people feel concerned about their confidentiality and privacy. They worry about the security of their personal data. There is a chance of breaching of personal information which is health-related. There is also the possibility that a third person might access the data which they have provided to their healthcare professional by unlocking secured files and folders. Therefore, security threat could thus prevent the usage of telemedicine in Australia. These barriers come under ICT issues (Scott Kruse et al., 2018).

The policy-related issues which are faced by telemedicine are that clinical practices face reimbursement and regulatory barriers. The first issue is that the healthcare provider and patient therapeutic relationship is not being established properly. If it gets set up then there are regulatory concerns. First of all, the healthcare provider needs to be licensed at the place where he is providing help and after that, he should have knowledge about the malpractice for that location. The second issue is that the medical record should be in compliance with the accountability act (Serper& Volk, 2018).

Therefore, the key issue which should be resolved for telemedicine is providing high bandwidth to the people living in a rural setting. This could be done with the help of the government of Australia as the competitive market has failed to reach the place so the government can consider implementing some policy which would bridge the gap that is created. The government could also provide private companies special offers so that they gate attracted to work in the place and thus supply people with high-quality internet. Other than this, to increase the literacy about proper use to telemedicine, the government could provide education to the people by the aid of programs. This would help in better usage of telemedicine by the people (John et al., 2018; Serper et al.,2020).

The other main concern for telemedicine is the issue of privacy and confidentiality. To reduce or eliminate the breaches healthcare providers must give tutorials or education to the diseased individuals so that they can make proper use of the electronic equipment. It is also significant for the healthcare providers to get familiar with the features of security so that they can also protect the customers from the breaches and violations. Hence, healthcare providers are needed to do self-assessment to check their level of preparedness and practice (Zhou et al., 2019).

In conclusion, it can be said that telemedicine helps patients by providing them with healthcare services by sitting afar from the healthcare provider with the use of the electronic medium. Telemedicine includes televisits, telemonitoring, telesupervision, teleconsultation, remote education and technology which aids in the purpose of research. The barriers to its implementation are lack of high-bandwidth internet in rural settings, lack the knowledge of using telemedicine properly among rural people, security violations, reimbursement and regulatory barriers. The issue of the internet could be solved if the government intervene and attract private companies by providing them offers so that they can supply people with high-quality internet. Another issue of security could be handled if the healthcare provider helps patients to use telemedicine properly.

References for Telehealth Privacy and Security Self-Assessment

Digital health. (2020). Digital health. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/digitalhealth2?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Donelle, L., & Booth, R. G. (2012). Health tweets: An exploration of health promotion on Twitter. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing17(3), 4. 10.3912/OJIN.Vol17No03Man04

Equity & Health. (2020). Equity & Health. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/equitylist?lang=en#:~:text=Equity%20%26%20Health%20(%40equitylist)%20%7C%20Twitter

John, B. V., Love, E., Dahman, B., Kurbanova, N., Konjeti, V. R., Sundaram, L. T., ... & Gilles, H. (2020). Use of telehealth expedites evaluation and listing of patients referred for liver transplantation. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology18(8), 1822-1830.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2019.12.021

Klar, S., Krupnikov, Y., Ryan, J. B., Searles, K., &Shmargad, Y. (2020). Using social media to promote academic research: Identifying the benefits of Twitter for sharing academic work. PloS One15(4), e0229446. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229446

Pershad, Y., Hangge, P. T., Albadawi, H., &Oklu, R. (2018). Social medicine: Twitter in healthcare. Journal of Clinical Medicine7(6), 121.https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm7060121

Romanick-Schmiedl, S., & Raghu, G. (2020). Telemedicine - maintaining quality during times of transition. Nature Reviews. Disease Primers6(1), 45. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-020-0185-x

Scott Kruse, C., Karem, P., Shifflett, K., Vegi, L., Ravi, K., & Brooks, M. (2018). Evaluating barriers to adopting telemedicine worldwide: A systematic review. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare24(1), 4–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/1357633X16674087

Serper, M., & Volk, M. L. (2018).Current and future applications of telemedicine to optimize the delivery of care in chronic liver disease. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology: The Official Clinical Practice Journal of the American Gastroenterological Association16(2), 157–161.e8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2017.10.004

Serper, M., Cubell, A. W., Deleener, M. E., Casher, T. K., Rosenberg, D. J., Whitebloom, D., & Rosin, R. M. (2020). Telemedicine in liver disease and beyond: Can the COVID‐19 crisis lead to action?. Hepatology.https://doi.org/10.1002/hep.31276

Sinnenberg, L., Buttenheim, A. M., Padrez, K., Mancheno, C., Ungar, L., & Merchant, R. M. (2017). Twitter as a tool for health research: A systematic review. American Journal of Public Health107(1), e1–e8.https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303512

Telemedicine Journal. (2020). Telemedicine Journal https://twitter.com/Telemedicine_Jn?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Zhou, L., Thieret, R., Watzlaf, V., Dealmeida, D., &Parmanto, B. (2019). A telehealth privacy and security self-assessment questionnaire for telehealth providers: Development and validation. International Journal of Telerehabilitation11(1), 3–14. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2019.6276

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