Module 5

1. Why would a patient want to create a blog? What might they gain from this?

A patient may want to create a blog in order to share their experiences with others in a forum that they are comfortable with. A friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer and blogs about it as a way to share it with her family and friends. It is a highly personal subject, and hard often hard to bring up the topic in conversation. On her blog, she can share what she feels comfortable sharing and her friends and family can keep updated. She can also network and find other women in similar situations to share her concerns and worries. Patients can gain support from friends, family members, and even meet new people who have shared the same experience either in the past or in the present. It can be a great way to share and gain new knowledge as well.

2.Why would a health care provider create a blog?

A health care provider might create a blog for a number of reasons. An acquaintance of mine who is an orthopedic surgeon has a blog dedicated to running. He has been through some injuries and uses the blog as a way to talk about his personal experiences with injury and how has been coping and recovering. It is interesting to see the provider in the role of a patient when reading his blog.
Another reason a health care provider may create a blog is for education. I found a blogs that were created as a way to educate the general public about medicine. A provider may also create a blog to participate with other providers and colleagues. I did see some blogs that were attached with medical centers and residency programs.

3. What are ethical considerations when blogging on a public website, such as we've used for this class?

Privacy is a consideration when blogging on a pubic website. It is important to know who has access to the blog you are posting when you are giving information. It may not be appropriate to share personal information on a public site since anyone may access it. Another consideration is accuracy of information. When reading anther person's blog, it is important to understand that the information may or may not be accurate and may be opinion based. This is important when using a blog for educational purposes. Also, the information posted on your own website may be personal opinion, but you use information from others, it should be acknowledged.