Houston, TX (November 28, 2001) - In many ways, the Internet has become to medical information what the printing press was to the Bible. Huge amounts of medical information – previously available primarily to medical professionals and researchers – are now easily available to anyone with Internet access. Among many medical professionals, the hope is that this medical information revolution will help improve people’s health, much as the printing press helped improve people’s minds.
With more health and medical information available than ever before, the Kelsey Research Foundation has developed the Health Information Center at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic’s Main Campus at 2727 W. Holcombe Blvd. The Center’s mission is to provide patients with up-to-date and comprehensive information about the prevention, early detection, and treatment of illness to enable them to make informed decision about their health and healthcare.
According to Tony Greisinger, Ph.D., Director of Research at the Kelsey Research Foundation, “We are trying to be responsive to what people want in healthcare. A clearinghouse of health information is becoming more and more desirable in a clinical setting. Patients who come in for appointments will often want to research further the information their doctors give to them. We provide them a convenient place to do so.”
Located in Kelsey-Seybold Clinic’s Main Campus close to the waiting rooms, the Health Information Center is a comfortable, quiet place, conducive to reading and research. There are computer terminals connected to the Internet that are programmed to assist with searching and finding Websites that have exactly the information the patient or family member is looking for. The Center also maintains an extensive collection of pamphlets, books, health videos, computer assisted learning programs, and references on community resources. Additionally, the Center houses a private reading room, a small video room with TV/VCRs for viewing videos, and a private meeting room, for patients and/or family members who may need to discuss difficult treatment or end of life issues.
While the Center is primarily used by patients and their families, it is open to the general public, and all educational materials are free of charge. “Our vision is to become the premier source of health information for people seeking medical care in the Houston area. We believe that the Health Information Center is needed to provide patients with the up-to-date and comprehensive resources they need in order to make informed decisions about their health and their medical care,” said Greisinger.
The full repercussions of the medical information revolution are yet to be seen, but millions of patients and their families, who search the Internet daily for medical information, can’t be wrong. We are beginning to understand that the future of healthcare lies not only in the strands of our DNA, but in harnessing the power of information that can help us make better, more informed choices about our healthcare decisions.
Tammie Anderson, LVN, is the Manager of the Health Information Center, and is on-hand to assist patients and the public with questions about how to find up-to-date information about treatment of illnesses, disease prevention, and healthy living at the Center. Tammie notes, “The Center provides a wide range of resources including a variety of brochures and books in both English and Spanish on health topics relevant to adults and children. Our patients who have visited the Center have been amazed at the wealth of information that’s available.”
The Health Information Center is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to patients, health care providers and the public. For information about the Center, please contact Tammie Anderson, LVN, Manager at 713-442-0305.
Founded in 1949, the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic combines the expertise of over 250 physicians in 39 specialties and subspecialties, practicing in more than 20 clinics throughout the area. Kelsey-Seybold physicians bring innovative ideas and vision to a health care delivery system that currently serves over 300,000 patients through health insurance and managed care plans, employer groups, the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).Its research affiliate, the Kelsey Research Foundation, is engaged in outcomes-based research studies designed to improve community health through information and education.
