Since a portion of my web traffic originates from the medical community, I’ve decided to provide an update on a web technology that you’ve all probably heard about, Twitter. We see links to Twitter on websites, news links, and even television ads. Just what does this ubiquitous, cute bird do, and what role can he play in the medical field?

Those of you using Facebook are also probably wondering whether Twitter is any different from your Status. Well, the truth is, it’s not. To take a step back, Twitter serves as a one-way bulletin board. You can post whatever you want on it for the world to see, but others cannot write on your bulletin. Your viewer do not require an account on Twitter, nor do they ever have to log in. In contrast, your status page on Facebook can only be viewed by your designated friends.

The strength of Twitter lies in its accessibility. The owner can post links via SMS, website, email, desktop application, or portable application. It is concise, and viewable by the public with any of the aforementioned posting media. Your followers can receive automated updates on your bulletin. Therefore, it is an expedient means of communication.

I first saw the use of Twitter in medicine from Henry Ford Hospital, where they broadcasted updates directly from the OR. This was innovative, because it was a means for the public to become involved in the operating room. Imagine receving real-time updates on the carotid endarterectomy from OR #12:

“The shunt has been bridged!”

“EEG shows activity!”

“The resident calls for the yellow-tails!”

I would certainly try to incorporate the medium in my OR. Twitter’s application can also be extended beyond the OR. You can post updates from the clinic via Twitter.

“Dr. is running late today.”

“Two openings at 4:15pm today. Okay to walk in.”

The key is, of course, not to abuse posts to the extent that your patients become sick of getting updates. There is certainly a fine balance to be had. That’s it. Go to Twitter.com. Open an account. Play with it. In the meantime, you can follow my Twitter, also viewable on the side column. Real-time. Real news. Good stuff. If you have questions, contact me.

Update (4/23/09; 9:07pm): Mayo Clinic has even jumped onto the Twitter bandwagon, holding a webcast presentation on Twittering. Great stuff.

computing medicine, tech

I’ve been experimenting with some Google Labs Gmail options, and came across the mail goggles feature. When enabled, a simple Ajax menu with basic math appears whenever you attempt to send an email. You must answer five basic arithmetic problems correctly in order for the mail to send. It’s intended to prevent you from sending unintended emails that you’d regret afterward–likely ones that you send late-night or while inebriated.

Initially I was surprised that such an add-on even existed; how often do we send unintended emails? I don’t think I ever do. But hey, accidents do happen. I get emails every week from hospital administration notifying us of an upcoming conference, only to see them retracted (via Outlook). Surely misdirected emails could possibly only come from misdirected souls, right? How could an electronic sobriety meter ever save me from email embarassment?

In any case, I fired up the mail goggle feature last night, and enabled it for the hours from 10pm until 6am. Since I’m working night float this week, it was a great way to test out its efficacy. Early on, I had little problem sending mail. Around 3:45am, however, the problems surfaced. 343-88? 403-159? Damn subtraction. As I was fumbling to send an email I wrote to Joe about how much I hated my rotation, the 60 second timer expired, and I was presented with five new arithmetic operations. Damnit! As I cursed at myself for being stupid, I glanced at the header field and realized that I had erroneously addressed the email to Janine.

While I’m sure Janine, Jacob, or Jim would probably not have known that my email was intended for Joe anyway, Mail goggles had validated its existence. Mistakes happen to even the best of us, especially with sleep deprivation.  If there were only a similar invention that worked for vocalizing thoughts…

computing tech

Three times a charm from the M$ folks:

As from my last post, these ads have been entertaining so far. This time they buy a Sony Vaio.

computing tech

Several entries ago, I wrote about my experiences with Google Voice.  It is by far one of the best forwarding services available today; one of its features include transcription of voicemail to text.  The transription has been shockingly accurate for me…that is, until I started using my number to discuss medical-related issues. Take the follow excerpt a urogynecologist left for me:

Hi...I last changed her catheter on Feburary eighteenth. Uh, I placed a sixteen
French foley catheter over her suprapubic site...if you think it looks cruddy
you can exchange it out...

Here is the transcription from Google voice:

Hi...if I west change her catherine said you were eighteen i placed a sixteen
french pollack after for super P B X site...if you think it works cruddy
always replace it out...

The message was actually enunciated clearly in the voicemail, and the doctor did not have any weird accents (Egyptian or Bostonian).  Overall, the transcription was accurate, and I assume that these shortcomings will be promptly corrected after the Google bots scour this entry and flag the development team. (Yeah, I know you Google spider bots are lurking around.)

Hilariously, I initially thought the transcription was a spam solicitation. I was about to file a complaint to Google that they were selling my number to spammers, but then listened to the actual voicemail. An admirable first attempt, it was. But then again, how often do you use words like, “suprapubic”, “catheter”, and “foley” anyway?

computing medicine, tech

Yea, fanboys are duking out the second episode of the M$ ad campaign on the message boards over the past few days.  Giampaolo is indeed a cool name. What I can assess from this ad is that it’s been too long since I’ve purchased a computer–I had no idea laptops came in cool ergonomic boxes these days…

computing tech