Here is a story in ZDNet that intersects healthcare, security, patient privacy and rights, and social media. How I Tweeted My Way out of Spinal Surgery.
Long story short, Twitter and the iPhone very well might have saved Sarah Cortes’s life by “helped her escape from the clutches of hospital staff whom, she claims, tried to intimidate and coerce her into accepting unnecessary spinal surgery.”
It started with “Trapped in hospital in rural Pennsylvania, fractured spine. Need a neurosurgeon in Boston.”
What ensued was very fast, almost unbelievable action by Paul Levy, who also straddles the healthcare and social media world, and other physicians.
There are many holes in the story as it is told. And Cortes admits to deleting the Tweets, but it appears the hospital acted selfishly and wasn’t necessarily thinking about the patient’s best interests as evidenced by the result. It raises a scary question about the intent of some of the physicians and hospitals.
This situation is most unusual. Cortes is a technology consultant and blogger, associated with ISACA. For anyone to get such quick action without a usual referral and waiting period is unheard of. It seems that this situation ended up being a test on social media as much as an exercise in proper healthcare.
One can dice and slice this in many directions, but one conclusion I would like to make is: question authority. A patient must be her own best advocate. Ok, maybe that was two conclusions.
Long story short, Twitter and the iPhone very well might have saved Sarah Cortes’s life by “helped her escape from the clutches of hospital staff whom, she claims, tried to intimidate and coerce her into accepting unnecessary spinal surgery.”
It started with “Trapped in hospital in rural Pennsylvania, fractured spine. Need a neurosurgeon in Boston.”
What ensued was very fast, almost unbelievable action by Paul Levy, who also straddles the healthcare and social media world, and other physicians.
There are many holes in the story as it is told. And Cortes admits to deleting the Tweets, but it appears the hospital acted selfishly and wasn’t necessarily thinking about the patient’s best interests as evidenced by the result. It raises a scary question about the intent of some of the physicians and hospitals.
This situation is most unusual. Cortes is a technology consultant and blogger, associated with ISACA. For anyone to get such quick action without a usual referral and waiting period is unheard of. It seems that this situation ended up being a test on social media as much as an exercise in proper healthcare.
One can dice and slice this in many directions, but one conclusion I would like to make is: question authority. A patient must be her own best advocate. Ok, maybe that was two conclusions.
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