NURS 6412 week 1 Discussion Paper
Locating Reliable Sources of Health Information
With so much bad information on the web, how can patients find reliable medical information online? The good news is that there are reliable information sources on the web — as long as you’re visiting the right websites.NURS 6412 week 1 Discussion Paper
Patients can start by remembering these tips:
- Start with a reliable provider.
- Evaluate commercial websites carefully for bias and conflict of interest.
- Check to see if the information is current, preferably less than three years old.
- Identify the credentials of the author, such as a patient, doctor, nurse, or patient advocate.
Here are 5 online resources for medical information that every patient can trust.
Overall Health Information: Medline Plus
Medline Plus is operated by the National Institutes of Health’s U.S. National Library of Medicine. This website is a reliable source of scientifically-based, peer-reviewed health information. There are no advertisements because it is already paid for by tax dollars.NURS 6412 week 1 Discussion Paper
All the information is written by healthcare professionals (MDs, PhDs, RNs, etc) and it is 100% available in Spanish. If you had one place to go for information, this should be it.
Drug Information: Daily Med
Daily Med is also operated by the National Institutes of Health’s U.S. National Library of Medicine, making it very reliable and ad-free. Information is sourced directly from the Food and Drug Administration.NURS 6412 week 1 Discussion Paper
Medical Procedures: Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins
The Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins are arguably two of the world’s leading institutions of medicine and science. Both are consistently ranked among the best medical providers in the country, and both conduct extensive medical and scientific research which keeps them at the forefront of innovation. They may be slightly more complicated to navigate than Medline Plus or Daily Med – it can sometimes be hard to tell if you are clicking on something that is just information, or something that is leading you towards making an appointment or finding a doctor.
However, they make up for this by having extensive information on medical procedures. You can search for tests and surgeries and get a lot of reliable info. Both the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins are technically not-for-profit. Nonetheless, it is worth remembering that they are medical institutions that make money by billing for medical services.
Dietary Supplements: NIH Office of Dietary Supplement
The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements might be hard to remember, but it makes up for it with extensive information.
Once again, the National Institutes of Health provides ad-free, scientifically verified information on vitamins and supplements that can’t be found anywhere else. One great feature offered by the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements is direct citations to the peer-reviewed articles. That makes it easier for patients to look deeper into the medical research.NURS 6412 week 1 Discussion Paper
Caution: Don’t Self-Diagnose
Education is empowerment. Take the time to learn about your medications and your diagnoses. But, do not attempt to diagnose or treat yourself based on any internet source.
Online resources are a great way for patients to begin their education. These trusted sources can help patients know what questions to ask, gain a better understanding of the latest innovations and help identify possible treatments. But, leave the diagnosing to a trained medical professional.
Caution: Avoid Sales Traps
Always be cautious of any health website that sell you something.
It’s very easy to end up on a page that seems to be telling you something really important about your health — only to find out later that they are trying to sell you something.NURS 6412 week 1 Discussion Paper
They may disguise themselves as a news story, or information from a celebrity. Whatever the packaging, if you get the impression you are being sold something, then be skeptical of the information provided.
When entering a medical facility, health assessment is an essential tool for evaluating patient health. Generally, assessment is broken down into two types of reviews by implementing a health history that includes patient physical examination, including collection of subjective data (information drawn by the patient or patient’s family) and collection of evidence. Based on data (Wilson & Giddens, 2009). Collecting and documenting accurate information is important for promoting an effective and superior care plan and providing this information to the cooperative medical team to establish a baseline for follow-up evaluation ( Springhouse, 2004;
As an acupuncturist, you first assess the patient’s health history and identify health-related problems. You can then perform a physical assessment such as checking the patient’s tongue and pulse rate. When this is done, you will plan a treatment plan. The patient will be lying on the table – usually in a quiet, quiet and comfortable environment – you insert a needle at the point of acupuncture, but this is not a painful process. Most people do not even think that a needle is inserted. Then place the needle in 5 to 30 minutes and then remove them NURS 6412 week 1 Discussion Paper
Assessment is the first step in the care planning process, starting with collecting, verifying, classifying, summarizing, and interpreting patient health information. For Medicare patients, comprehensive assessment and OASIS data elements provide a template for comprehensive and complete assessment. It is important that you identify the most important health information so that you can continue to combine care plans that cover that need as a whole.
The purpose of this article is to discuss the results of the comprehensive health assessment of the patients I have chosen. This comprehensive assessment includes a patient’s complete health history and physical examination from head to toe. Complete health history information is obtained by interviewing patients considered to be reliable sources. There were no other data sources such as medical records in the interview. Physical examination data can be obtained through examination, palpation, battle and auscultation techniques. Results of case studies were interpreted from the perspective of registered nurses, and three nursing diagnoses were identified.NURS 6412 week 1 Discussion Paper