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Web site provides answers on world of home medicine

A new interactive, multimedia Web site will demystify the world of medicine for patients and caretakers, the site creators said.

The site www.medmessageinfo.tw, scheduled to come online on Jan 1, is sponsored by the Department of Health and is operated by the Yonghe branch of Cardinal Tien Hospital.

Fang Shih-chin (方識欽), a neurologist at the hospital who is involved with the project, said at yesterday's news conference that the Web site will consolidate what patients and caretakers need to know prior to, during and after a visit to the hospital, with a special focus on practical instruction for family members who find themselves caring for a suddenly infirm patient.

"It is so much easier and clearer to understand how to do something by watching a video rather than looking at line drawings or listening to a doctor's hurried description," Fang said.

The Web site offers videos on care and rehabilitation procedures in a home environment. One video demonstrates how stroke victims can improve their motor skills by practicing with common household items, such as an empty squeeze bottle.

Sometimes confusion about how to perform simple procedures can keep a patient in the hospital for weeks longer than necessary, Fang said.

"For instance, patients' families are often intimidated by nasal feeding tubes," Fang said. "They are very resistant to taking patients home until they can be fed orally."

Sometimes relatives will make up excuses as to why a patient should remain hospitalized until the tube can be taken off, Fang said.

"The wider availability of simple, easy to understand instructions that demystify procedures such as feeding a patient through a nasal tube will both improve patients' quality of life and save the National Health Insurance a lot of money by keeping patients out of hospital," Fang said.
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