The History of Medical Communication

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Medical Communication broadly includes how medical knowledge is shared and circulated among different societal segments (eg., the public, media, policy makers, and the medical community) on a variety of levels (personal/micro, community/meso, social/macro, and international). Medical Communication is a specialized area in medicine within science communication, which is currently enjoying national and international attention.

BUT, Medical Communication is not a new science. It has been used since medieval times ( at least ) to share medical knowledge and influence public health behaviour.

Hieronymus Fracastorius (Girolamo Fracastoro), born in 1478 near Venice was a contemporary and friend of Copernicus. As a doctor, he’s considered one of the founding fathers of the modern medicine: He hypothesized that infections are caused by tiny particles (spores), with the ability to multiply inside the organism and to infect through the breath and different other forms of transmission.

The first well-recorded European outbreak of what is now known as syphilis occurred in 1494 when it broke out among French troops besieging Naples. In the year 1521, Fracastoro wrote a few letters to Cardinal Bembo, describing the new illness. The illness had apparently appeared in Europe after discovery of America and allegedly imported from the new world ( The Columbian Exchange theory)

In August of 1530 he published in Verona an epic poem in three volumes about it. In this poem is narrated the history of Sifilo, a young shepherd who offended Apollo, God of the sun, that punished him with a terrible illness that irremediably destroys the beauty. He also published an essay, entitled “Hieronymi Fracastorii Syphilidis sive de morbo gallico“, that results to be a scientific monograph, compiled for the Doctors; where the pathology is described in a detailed way, in its symptomatology, diagnosis and therapy. He recommended the use of mercury and guaiac wood for treating Syphilis.

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The above ” Medical Communication” shows the shepherd Sifilo/Syphilus and the hunter Ilceus being warned against yielding to temptation with the danger of infection with syphilis.Engraving by Jan Sadeler I after Christoph Schwartz, 1588/1595.– Image reproduced from Wellcome under Creative commons license.

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Simulation technology for medical education

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Virtual world has caught on in a big way.And it can really prove a boon in Medical education, for many reasons. The first reason which comes to mind is that the training of medical and paramedical staff is much easier and without any risk to real patients. Below is a video showing use of virtual technology for training in case of emergencies like accidents and multiple trauma. This video uses a multi-player format for this purpose. A great number of other interactive tools and methods can be added to increase its effectiveness. Also, it can be converted into a full blown game with bonus points for correct interventions by the medical staff and penalties for losing the patient because of preventable medical errors.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwQlHNlpVcE
Demonstration of using a virtual world for emergency preparedness training. This example has citizens hurt by an explosion and paramedics having to coordinate the triage and treatment process. All the avatars are played by real people.

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My early steps in professional Medical Communication

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Medicine is a very visual science. I am always excited by the scope of visualization in Medical sciences, whether it is for diagnosis, training or patient education.

In fact Mark IV, a Medical animations and content provider firm located in Coimbatore, South India with offices in UK and Singapore is doing some excellent work in this field. I also know Dr. Ajit Babu at Amrita institute of Medical sciences is doing some path-breaking work in use of virtual reality in medical sciences. This is being done by Center for digital health, Amrita institute of medical sciences, Kochi in collaboration with Buffalo University, U.S.

Anyways, i stumbled onto this fantastic video on the blog, REVEALED, showing use of virtual reality in medical education. Though the simulation shows great scope, the accuracy and details can be improved on. Great work, nevertheless.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak6l7OC0SpY

This virtual reality simulation of the pelvic floor is shown running on an ImmersaDesk at the Virtual Reality Medicine Laboratory (VRMedLab) at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Both the Pelvic Floor simulation and the ImmersaDesk were developed at the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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-Manhattan Research Survey Finds That Physicians Overwhelmingly Support Commercially-Funded CME

NEW YORK, NY – January 27, 2009 – A study by healthcare market research firm Manhattan Research found that only 9% of U.S. physicians oppose commercial support for continuing medical education (CME) funding. The results of this study are relevant to the ongoing discussion in the medical community about the role of commercial funding of CME. Healthcare market research firm Manhattan Research conducted a survey to gauge physician opinion on commercially-funded CME and the proposed ban. The online study was fielded in the third quarter of 2008 among a nationally representative sample of U.S. physicians, including primary care and specialist audiences.

In an effort to better understand the positions of those who actually use continuing medical education, Manhattan Research surveyed physicians on their opinions with regard to their use and the potential bias of industry-funded programs. The Manhattan Research study reports that only 8% of physicians who participated in CME believe that it is biased. In fact, if commercial support is halted, nearly half of the physicians surveyed would decrease their use of CME.

According to the study, almost all physicians utilize CME programs to maintain and grow their medical knowledge and to keep up-to-date on the latest advances in their specialty with the ultimate goal of improving patient care. Pharmaceutical companies are a funding source for CME programs, which has prompted some critics to question their influence over CME course content. In response, the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the organization that accredits CME Providers, has augmented its standards and guidelines to ensure the independence of commercially supported CME activities. The American Medical Association’s Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA) is also expected to issue a new report on commercially-supported CME later this year.

“While there’s been debate around the value of industry-supported CME, as our study reveals, it’s important to listen to the voice of the majority of physicians,” said Mark Bard, Manhattan Research President. “Rather than pulling the plug on a vital source of CME funding, the primary beneficiaries of CME – physicians and patients – would be best served by continued improvements to course availability, offerings, and content through increased collaboration among medical and academic organizations, the pharmaceutical industry, CME providers, and accreditation bodies.”

Interact Medical Animation for education

High quality CMEs will have to be commercially funded. Its up to the physicians to glean the essence and overlook the hard sell.

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-Manhattan Research Survey Finds That Physicians Overwhelmingly Support Commercially-Funded CME

NEW YORK, NY – January 27, 2009 – A study by healthcare market research firm Manhattan Research found that only 9% of U.S. physicians oppose commercial support for continuing medical education (CME) funding. The results of this study are relevant to the ongoing discussion in the medical community about the role of commercial funding of CME. Healthcare market research firm Manhattan Research conducted a survey to gauge physician opinion on commercially-funded CME and the proposed ban. The online study was fielded in the third quarter of 2008 among a nationally representative sample of U.S. physicians, including primary care and specialist audiences.

In an effort to better understand the positions of those who actually use continuing medical education, Manhattan Research surveyed physicians on their opinions with regard to their use and the potential bias of industry-funded programs. The Manhattan Research study reports that only 8% of physicians who participated in CME believe that it is biased. In fact, if commercial support is halted, nearly half of the physicians surveyed would decrease their use of CME.

According to the study, almost all physicians utilize CME programs to maintain and grow their medical knowledge and to keep up-to-date on the latest advances in their specialty with the ultimate goal of improving patient care. Pharmaceutical companies are a funding source for CME programs, which has prompted some critics to question their influence over CME course content. In response, the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the organization that accredits CME Providers, has augmented its standards and guidelines to ensure the independence of commercially supported CME activities. The American Medical Association’s Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA) is also expected to issue a new report on commercially-supported CME later this year.

“While there’s been debate around the value of industry-supported CME, as our study reveals, it’s important to listen to the voice of the majority of physicians,” said Mark Bard, Manhattan Research President. “Rather than pulling the plug on a vital source of CME funding, the primary beneficiaries of CME – physicians and patients – would be best served by continued improvements to course availability, offerings, and content through increased collaboration among medical and academic organizations, the pharmaceutical industry, CME providers, and accreditation bodies.”

Interact Medical Animation for education

High quality CMEs will have to be commercially funded. Its up to the physicians to glean the essence and overlook the hard sell.

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-Medical Communication in India

Image via Wikipedia

Since dabbling with Medical communications professionally, i have realized it has been something i have been doing for quite some time, without knowing. Anything i share with others in the form of media, which is related to Medicine and health, would come under the heading of Medical communications. Medical communications would thus include all my work on Slideshare, youtube, Docstoc, Scribd, Authorstream etc.

One easy way to access a lot of my communications would be by clicking on the icons below!!

Contact Me:               

Anyways, I was doing some research on Medical animation and came across this presentation on history of computer graphics. I should mention here that the only reason i searched Docstoc and not Scribd for my documents is because of the great links posted by Jason Nazar on facebook, regularly. Thanks Jason.

History Of Computer Animation – Free Legal Forms

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-Medical Communication in India

Image via Wikipedia

Since dabbling with Medical communications professionally, i have realized it has been something i have been doing for quite some time, without knowing. Anything i share with others in the form of media, which is related to Medicine and health, would come under the heading of Medical communications. Medical communications would thus include all my work on Slideshare, youtube, Docstoc, Scribd, Authorstream etc.

One easy way to access a lot of my communications would be by clicking on the icons below!!

Contact Me:

Anyways, I was doing some research on Medical animation and came across this presentation on history of computer graphics. I should mention here that the only reason i searched Docstoc and not Scribd for my documents is because of the great links posted by Jason Nazar on facebook, regularly. Thanks Jason.

History Of Computer Animation – Free Legal Forms

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India needs IT based health delivery system

Image by drneelesh via Flickr

New Delhi: The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) International Advisory Panel Chairperson Jeffrey Sachs has called upon India to implement IT based health delivery system in the country.

The Columbia University Professor, while praising India’s effort for closing gap on the health mission under the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) with the other countries, however, said that the country needs to make more investment in the sector. “India should step up the budgetary allocation in health sector to four to five per cent of the GDP,” Sachs said adding that a higher investment in the health sector will give great social returns.

Calling the NRHM as one of the most remarkable achievements in public health sector, he said that India’s dramatic improvement in the health sector have been made possible due to enhanced partnership between the centre, state and local units.

Sachs, who is also the advisor to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, said that the increase in institutional delivery and drop in mortality is especially impressive.

Arguing for an IT-based health delivery system, Sachs added that India can serve as a role model for other countries in the health sector.Having travelled to a few Indian states, he also said that there is, however, a need for more human resources and logistical support.

He was speaking with the media after a meeting with the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss and the senior officials of the Ministry for the fifth meeting of the Panel in New Delhi on Tuesday. The advisory panel meeting was also attended by Health Ministers of three African countries— Kenyan Minister for Medical Services Peter Anyag ‘Nyong’ O, Malawi Minister of Health Khumbo Kachali, and Rawanda’s Minister of Health Rechard Sezibera

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India needs IT based health delivery system

New Delhi: The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) International Advisory Panel Chairperson Jeffrey Sachs has called upon India to implement IT based health delivery system in the country.

The Columbia University Professor, while praising India’s effort for closing gap on the health mission under the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) with the other countries, however, said that the country needs to make more investment in the sector. “India should step up the budgetary allocation in health sector to four to five per cent of the GDP,” Sachs said adding that a higher investment in the health sector will give great social returns.

Calling the NRHM as one of the most remarkable achievements in public health sector, he said that India’s dramatic improvement in the health sector have been made possible due to enhanced partnership between the centre, state and local units.

Sachs, who is also the advisor to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, said that the increase in institutional delivery and drop in mortality is especially impressive.

Arguing for an IT-based health delivery system, Sachs added that India can serve as a role model for other countries in the health sector.Having travelled to a few Indian states, he also said that there is, however, a need for more human resources and logistical support.

He was speaking with the media after a meeting with the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss and the senior officials of the Ministry for the fifth meeting of the Panel in New Delhi on Tuesday. The advisory panel meeting was also attended by Health Ministers of three African countries— Kenyan Minister for Medical Services Peter Anyag ‘Nyong’ O, Malawi Minister of Health Khumbo Kachali, and Rawanda’s Minister of Health Rechard Sezibera

 

India needs IT based health delivery system

Image by drneelesh via Flickr

New Delhi: The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) International Advisory Panel Chairperson Jeffrey Sachs has called upon India to implement IT based health delivery system in the country.

The Columbia University Professor, while praising India’s effort for closing gap on the health mission under the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) with the other countries, however, said that the country needs to make more investment in the sector. “India should step up the budgetary allocation in health sector to four to five per cent of the GDP,” Sachs said adding that a higher investment in the health sector will give great social returns.

Calling the NRHM as one of the most remarkable achievements in public health sector, he said that India’s dramatic improvement in the health sector have been made possible due to enhanced partnership between the centre, state and local units.

Sachs, who is also the advisor to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, said that the increase in institutional delivery and drop in mortality is especially impressive.

Arguing for an IT-based health delivery system, Sachs added that India can serve as a role model for other countries in the health sector.Having travelled to a few Indian states, he also said that there is, however, a need for more human resources and logistical support.

He was speaking with the media after a meeting with the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss and the senior officials of the Ministry for the fifth meeting of the Panel in New Delhi on Tuesday. The advisory panel meeting was also attended by Health Ministers of three African countries— Kenyan Minister for Medical Services Peter Anyag ‘Nyong’ O, Malawi Minister of Health Khumbo Kachali, and Rawanda’s Minister of Health Rechard Sezibera

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