1. The Connected E-Patient Kelly A. Kuhns, MSN, RN Assistant Professor Millersville University

3. Internet Use Statistics More than 2/3 of US adults have in home access (2003) Use continues to increase across all generations Over 80% of those with access have used it to seek health care information

4. Health Literacy Statistics 53% of US adults (over 16) possess a intermediate level of health literacy 12% are at a high level 36% are at or below a basic level of understanding

5. Finding Online Health Information Most start with a basic search engine Less than 15% consider source/credibility Less than 1% of sites provide information about date of creation and updates

6. Types of Users Those with chronic diseases Those interested in less traditional approaches Proxy health seekers Shifting provider/patient relationship

7. Chronic Disease and the Internet (PEW, March 2010) Those with chronic disease are slightly less likely to have online access Blogging and discussion forums are the most common activities

8. Online Health Uses Information Likely most common reason for online health related searches Basic searches (Google, Bing, etc) How to evaluate information found? How to get patients to the sites we believe to be the most beneficial? Symptom checker http://symptoms.webmd.com/default.htm http://symptoms.webmd.com/default.htm

9. Online Health Uses Support Blogs www.heartattackrider.com Discussion forums http:// forums.about.com/ab-heartdisease / http:// forums.about.com/ab-heartdisease / Chat Rooms Support Groups www.patientslikeme.com Illness Narratives Care Pages, Caring Bridge Connection Social Networking Facebook, MySpace http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Lewis town-PA/Lewistown-Hospital-Cardiac- Rehab/303925251001?ref=ts http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Lewis town-PA/Lewistown-Hospital-Cardiac- Rehab/303925251001?ref=ts Twitter, constant feeds http://abcnews.go.com/video/pl ayerIndex?id=7350829

10. Online Health Uses Treatment MoodGym MyTherapist.com Provider email hours Electronic Health Record Federal initiative Privacy concerns Concerns of accuracy

11. Our Role Ask what has been found online Assisting in determining veracity and quality of online information Providing access to quality online information Explaining security of online information

12. Future Directions Changes to practice standards? Development of websites specific to your patient population