Biological-Psychological-Social-Technological Approach to Care

Internet-based Instruction Effective For Teaching Health-care Professionals, Study Shows

2008-10-05T14:45:00.000-07:00

Internet-based Instruction Effective For Teaching Health-care Professionals, Study Shows

ScienceDaily (2008-09-11) -- Internet-based education generally is effective, according to new research. Internet-based instruction also has unique advantages, including flexible scheduling, adaptability of instruction, and readily available content that is easily updated. ... > read full article

New Robots Can Provide Elder Care For Aging Baby Boomers

2008-06-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

New Robots Can Provide Elder Care For Aging Baby Boomers

ScienceDaily (2008-04-21) -- Over 77 million baby boomers will retire in the next 30 years, and robots are ready to assist with elder care. Engineers have created a robotic assistant that can recognize medical emergencies and call 911, remind clients to take their medication, help with grocery shopping and cleaning and allow retirees to communicate with loved ones. ... > read full article

ALERT: For a Complete Medical History, Compile Your Own Health Records

2008-06-13T22:11:00.001-07:00

"Like most people, you've probably moved many times during your life. Settling in to any new community usually means establishing a relationship with a new doctor, dentist or other health care provider. Over time, it's easy to forget when you were treated, by whom ó even for what. Even if you've stayed in one place, it's still likely you've received medical care from various providers over time" (Click here for the entire article).

Online Access to Living Wills

2008-06-13T18:13:00.000-07:00

"A good death should be as commonplace as a good life. Too often, however, health care at the end of life stands in the way" (Click here for the entire article).

Some of the stress clients experience is related to lack of preparation. And it is true, we cannot prepare for every event in life or death, but where there is an opportunity, such as completing an Advanced Directive, the preparation time lessens the time of burden family and friends must share.

The Psychology of Hearing Loss

2008-06-06T01:16:00.000-07:00

"The experience of hearing loss is different for everyone. Speech-language pathologists and audiologists need to have a good grasp of both the physical—and psychological—realities of hearing loss. Hearing loss makes communication with the outside world difficult, and an individual’s personality affects adaptation of hearing loss. A psychologist and psychiatrist, both hard-of-hearing themselves, bring an inside view to some of the potential psychological effects of hearing loss and the ways that clinicians can address them" (view full article).

by Mary Kaland and Kate Salvatore

Heavy Cell Phone Use Linked To Cancer, Study Suggests

2008-05-31T15:50:00.000-07:00

ScienceDaily (2008-02-15) -- A new study finds an association between heavy cell phone use and tumors of the salivary gland. Those who used a cell phone heavily on the side of the head where the tumor developed were found to have an increased risk of about 50% for developing a tumor of the main salivary gland (parotid), compared to those who did not use cell phones. ... > read full article

Before you give away confidential information!

2008-05-31T14:52:00.000-07:00

You will replace your computer with another and give your old computer to a colleague, friend, or maybe your teenager if you work from home. And, if they "gift" your computer, it may end up on the worldwide market (How to Recycle Obsolete Computers, Monitors, and IT Assets to Protect the Environment, San Diego Chronicle, February 13, 2007). Before you give away your confidential information, consider using LavaSoft's File Shredder, which boasts "military and government approved security standards."

Texas State University cautions, "Everything you have ever created on your computer can still be on your computer. Data not removed or destroyed such as e-mail, documents, spreadsheets, pictures, credit card numbers, and confidential data such as Social Security Numbers will still be on the hard drive" (Hardware Disposal Procedures - Clean Hard Drive). Moreover, it is reported reformatting the hard drive does not remove data, and "The safest method is to overwrite the hard drive data using a software program that will overwrite the hard drive for you."

"The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in California vs. Greenwood that discarded materials confer no right to privacy, more or less giving individuals the right to peruse secondhand drives" (Ready to recycle that old PC? Read this first, CNet Reviews, April 14, 2006).

And, if for some reason you need to recover data, consider: http://www.ontrack.com/ to help you with what was otherwise thought to be "deleted."

Medicare and Telemedicine Accepted by Some States

2008-04-18T21:17:00.001-07:00

It is encouraging to see medicine move in the direction of telemedicine. I suspect it will be within the next 3-7 years, where it will be an acceptable practice throughout the healthcare industry.

"Telemedicine is generally described as the use of communication equipment to link health care practitioners and patients in different locations. This technology is used by health care providers for many reasons, including increased cost efficiency, reduced transportation expenses, improved patient access to specialists and mental health providers, improved quality of care, and better communication among providers.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has not formally defined telemedicine for the Medicaid program, and Medicaid law does not recognize telemedicine as a distinct service. Nevertheless, Medicaid reimbursement for services furnished through telemedicine applications is available, at the state's option, as a cost-effective alternative to the more traditional ways of providing medical care (e.g., face-to-face consultations or examinations). At least 18 states are allowing reimbursement for services provided via telemedicine for reasons that include improved access to specialists for rural communities and reduced transportation costs" (Medicare Website, 04.18.08)

Overview

Bio-Psycho-Social-Technology (BPST)

2008-04-15T10:56:00.000-07:00

An invitation to you, with a little history:

Pictured here is the The Apple Macintosh PowerBook 100 (Introduced 10.21.1991). That was before my work at Charter Hospital Psych. Facility, in Mission Viejo (12.1992). I remember trying to expedite the processing of paperwork, by converting carbon copy forms into fillable forms on the laptop, which could be printed out. No one in the office saw any use for this task, though the use of carbon copy seemed inefficient to me; now carbon copy "has declined significantly in the last 20 years" (Kevin M. Laurence, 1995, The Exciting History of Carbon Paper), and fillable forms are tools to many time saving steps I use to satisfy multiple professional and personal needs.

E-world was my first online experience that I can remember, and I was so impressed with the opportunity to communicate with others from my home office.

Long before that, in high school, I wrote my first "program" which resulted in nothing more than a countdown image...10, 9, 8, 7... You get the idea, to an "explosion" of lights and sounds. My teacher was so impressed, as was I thrilled. I must have run that program several dozen times for my classmates.

It was at that time, I fell in love with technology and the human mind (via the class Intro to Psychology). And so was born the task to answer the question on how to integrate the two loves. I have worked on this question for many years, and still enjoy answering the question with new answers that arise with new developments.

For example, just moments ago, I completed a call to a colleague (who is the director for my off-site office team) in Lahore, Pakistan, from my mobile office (I'm finishing my third cup of coffee, and a wonderful cinnamon scone (my favorite) at Panera, located in Solana Beach, CA, USA). My call was via Skype (the call was free), with webcam by Logitech (though my webcam didn't work on the call today).

This is exciting and I am inviting you to explore with me the continued integration of Bio-Psycho-Social-Technology.

I hope you will join me to:

Collaborate to make more user friendly the worlds of technology and our respective disciplines
Learn about various technologies that influence healthcare, our clients and (virtual) offices
Teach the next generation of clinicians (and those who are shy about the use of technology in their work)
Admire what is yet to come
Enjoy and have fun in what we do now, and can do with our imaginations

Kind regards,

Edward De La Loza, LCSW

www.LHicc.com

866.665.4422

P.S. If you know of colleagues who would be interested in this project, please pass along the invitation!