A new model: physician-patient collaboration in online communities and the clinical practice of oncology.
The practice of medicine is in the midst of a fundamental transformation based on the new availability of health information through the Internet and other sources accessible by the broad lay public, as well as on the easy sharing of experiences and content through social media. This is occurring at a time when the volume of new information required for optimal medical care is exceeding that which an individual physician can feasibly follow and master. The changes in cancer care are especially acute as we experience an ongoing reclassification of many disease entities to reflect divisions by molecular variables, often with new clinical options now optimized for very limited patient subsets. The increasing complexity of the field, combined with the high stakes of optimizing treatment decisions and the growing availability of a wide range of information in the public domain, make oncology an area in which patients and caregivers are most motivated to become active seekers of medical information and participants in their care decisions. The credibility of the available online information in such a situation has emerged as a critical issue, but physicians have historically been reluctant to create content or interact with the lay public in online patient communities. Here we will highlight several examples of collaborative engagement between health care professionals and motivated patients in an online environment that illustrate how a new bidirectional or even networked model that is a product of the Internet age can accelerate clinical research and improve delivery of cancer care.
From the Department of Thoracic Oncology, Swedish Cancer Institute, Seattle, WA.
Howard J
HJ
West
From the Department of Thoracic Oncology, Swedish Cancer Institute, Seattle, WA.
Dave
D
Debronkart
From the Department of Thoracic Oncology, Swedish Cancer Institute, Seattle, WA.
George D
GD
Demetri