Healthcare 2.0 – Cyberpsychology and Telehealth

MD Web 2.0 & New Media MeetupDiscussing the Impact of Web 2.0 on

Healthcare05 August 2009

Marie-Michelle Strah, PhD

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Health 2.0

• Web 2.0 tools – the revolution is now:

– Access to care– Quality of care– Patient education and health literacy– Communities of practice (research and provider

education)– Virtual support groups

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Health 2.0, Telehealth and Tele-Mental Health

• Telehealth – Web 1.0 tools for remote or tele-health, diagnosis, consultation, medical records management

• Mental health and Web 1.0?• Fast forward to…

• Tele-Mental Health? Cyberpsychology?

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Psychoanalysis, psychology and technology

• By way of introduction… if Freud had Facebook

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Notes on the mystic writing pad…

• If Freud had a blog…

• Studies on Hysteria• Notes on a case of hysteria

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Technology and Telehealth

• Virtual Worlds• Virtual Reality• Virtual Exposure Therapy• Second Life

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Technology and Telehealth 2.0

• Social Media and Outreach• Stigma vs. “TMI”

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http://www.realwarriors.net/multimedia

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Cyberpsychology?

• Telehealth• Human factors analysis• Psychology of the internet/cyberspace• Media psychology• Organizational behavior and healthcare

administration• New phenomena: cyber-bullying and cyber-

stalking

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Challenges

• How do we define the field of “cyberpsychology?”• Training and education • Communications

– Language and culture– Miscommunication? – Netiquette– The talking cure?

• Broadband/High Speed Internet Access• Cost• HIPAA and information security

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Challenges 2.0

• “Presence”– Transference/Counter-transference– Levels of trust– Clinical practice guidelines– Identification, projection and alter egos…– Boundaries– Alienation

• Digital natives, early adopters and the “rest of the world”

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Questions?