Alzheimer’s Webliography
Alzheimer’s has become a topic that is very important to me. I recently began working on a Geriatric-Psych Unit, and this is something that is seen more and more. When I began working there I only knew the very basics of the disease and had to do research of my own. The only thing I really knew about it was that the patient had different degrees of memory loss. I wanted to provide information to everyone about the disease, and places to go to find quality information.
When selecting information to post in the webliography, I wanted to find accurate information. I never trust Wikipedia, and I found many newspaper articles, but most of those were only opinions and not anything concrete. I looked for government websites and those endorsed by the government. I also looked for sites that are endorsed by physicians. I wanted to find organizations with good reputations and that promote further education and research. The following sites are what I found valuable in providing information. I hope everyone can gain some better insight, so when they come across an Alzheimer’s patient, they are better prepared to care for them.
U.S. National Institutes of Health National Institute on Aging/Alzheimers http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers
This site has a place dedicated to people asking questions and then a response is given to the best of the current knowledge. This site has referrals to doctors in your area. Also, there are free publications, training materials, and clinical trial information. This is a great site for patients and healthcare providers to follow different studies and research.
MayoClinic.com Alzheimer’s Disease http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alzheimers-disease/DS00161
I was able to find alterative medicine and treatments at this site. There are also interactive slide shows mapping the brain and what Alzheimer’s does to the brain. There is also a place to blog about opinions and ask questions. This is a great site for those that know nothing about the disease because they can see pictures and ask questions.
Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Caring for the nation www.alzfdn.org
This is a valuable site for caregivers. There is an area dedicated on how to provide care and understand the Alzheimer’s patient. There is a place where people can take memory screening to see where they stand with memory. A section is also made for donations to research.
Alzheimer’s Organization Alzheimer’s www.alz.org/index.asp
I liked this site because it gave information on different doctors specializing in this disease and different researchers and their projects. There is also a section that breaks down various costs of treatment and what medicare/medicaid will cover. There is also a place to voice concerns to lawmakers. This is a great site for patients to find resources of costs and help with those costs.
CINAHL Plus with Full Text Alzheimer’s disease: the road to Oblivion www.cinahl.com/cgi-bin/refsvc?jid=1869&accno=2009183556
I enjoyed reading this article because it really broke down Alzheimer’s. It covered the various stages one can be expected to see. It also went over medical conditions that can impair cognition in old age. This is good for caregivers so they can recognize the different stages that will be seen with the disease.
eBooks Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Annual 2004 http://eagle.sbuniv.edu:2083/reader
I recommend this reading if you want the antomy and physiological information on Alzheimer’s. This gives some of the various causes that are thought to contribute to Alzheimer’s. It also gives neuropsychological systems that can be seen. This would be a good source for anyone interested in research.
Add a comment November 6, 2009
OOPS!
I just realized that I discussed “our book” but did not give proper credit. Here is the reference.
Mastrian, K., McGonigle, D. (2009). Nursing Informatics 232-233.
Jones and Bartlett Publishers: Massachusetts.
Add a comment October 22, 2009
Who Owns My EHR?
When I first read the question about who owns the EHR, I automatically thought the patient. Right? I mean without patients the EHR would not even exist. Each EHR is specific to the patient, their personal information, and their condition. That being said, wouldn’t it make sense that the patient would be the obvious owner of their own record?
After thinking about the question more, this is what I came up with. I think ultimately that the patient is the owner, but others have a stake, or vested interest in the EHR. I believe that the patient should be able to oversee the EHR. There is a section in our book that discusses the PHR and EHR and that there is a way that you can stay “linked” to this system from home. You can see all of your information, and even interact with the doctors. I believe that everyone that visits their physician should receive this information on how to access their record, just like they are constantly forced to sign HIPPA forms.
So about the others with vested interest in the EHR. This becomes a slippery slope. Doctors need to be able to access a patients info, insurance companies need to access certain info for billing, the computer system owner needs to be able to access to install new programming and updates, and if Obama has his way, the government will ultimately be making a lot of health care decisions for us and will need access to our records. So with all of these different people having access to our records, is our information really safe? HIPPA is in place, but it can very easily be violated and those that do are not always caught. I believe that doctors are well within their right to access info as long as they are going by the guiding principle of beneficence and truly trying to assist the patient. I, personally, feel uncomfortable with the govenment having any access to my healthcare record, owning that record and the idea of socialized medicine. I think this is giving the government TOO MUCH POWER over us as individuals and the decisions that we are supposed to make for ourselves in regard to our treatment.
After all of my ramblings, this is the point I am trying to make. We should have control over our own records, who sees those records (above and beyond physicans), and our treatment. WE own those records. Without us, the EHR would cease to exist. There should be a standardized release form for the EHR that we should sign showing who exactly has access to that record and what info they are allowed to access.
Add a comment October 22, 2009
What I learned in Week 1
I learned that there is alot more to this blogging thing then I thought. It has kind of taken me out of my comfort zone. There are all sorts of links and different pages and I’m still trying to find out which end is up. I did, however, learn the importance of blogging and twittering. I guess I never realized what valuable resources they are for networking. It was amazing to learn also that most employers want you to have some idea how they work. There was also a lot of terminolgy thrown at me very quickly. Up to this point, I knew how to get on the internet, google, and get on facebook. That was it. Even though this is a whole new world for me, I know that it will open more opportunities for me to network and find info on different topics related to my career. Please just be patient with me while I get used to this!
Add a comment October 8, 2009
Hello world!
Ok…so this is blogging. A little scary, kind of intimidating, and def confusing. I managed to pick out a background and do something with widgets, although I still need to figure out the exact purpose. Hopefully my page looks alright and I will continue to make upgrades to it.
1 comment October 8, 2009
