Physician-Patient Relationships in Second Life

Welcome to Second Life. Second Life is an online virtual world that allows users to interact with each other through avatars. These avatars can explore the world, participate in activities, purchase virtual real estate, shop and much more. In 2011, there are about 1 million active users of Second Life. There are a variety of uses for Second Life, so how can Second Life accommodate the physician-patient relationship?

I believe that one of the foremost uses of Second Life in a physician-patient relationship is that of providing education and/or information in an interactive environment, in real life time without waiting for a response via email, a returned phone call or an office visit. The advantage to second life relationships is that emotions can be curtailed if this is something that the patient wishes to conceal. There are no biases or judgment involved based on appearances, personalities or hesitation on the part of the patient due to embarrassment. There is a ‘safe” environment for disclosure where the patient can maintain anonymity if so desired.

Another advantageous use of Second Life is for education. An instructor can create a presentation that is very life like and can be created once and used over and over. I found the hallucination presentation in Second Life offered a very real, empathetic understanding of a disease that I would not have been able to understand on the same level as I have after the Second Life experience.

The downside is that setting up an account, creating an Avatar and learning to maneuver in Second Life takes time and practice and is not for everyone. I see younger generations taking to this and those of us who are “techies”. I also see this as beneficial for distance education or communication. At this point, I believe there is a small portion of the population that would use this media to communicate with their physician, and I believe even fewer physicians who would take the time to learn, create and take advantage of what Second Life could offer. I do appreciate the opportunity to complete a course or obtain a degree online and I certainly look forward to reviewing my test results online and communicating with my healthcare provider via email. I just feel that second life might take a little longer to catch on. I also feel that you need to have had physical connection with the provider first so that you know to whom you are really trusting your healthcare to. I think telemedicine might catch on must quicker.

Of course I am very new to Second Life and have had limited experience as an avatar so my opinion is limited as well. I would have liked to have been introduced to Second Life and this subject while working on my Masters. I think I would have liked to complete my thesis around the topic of Second Life and physician-patient relationships. 

Governor Signs Healthcare Bills

This week Governor Jerry Brown signed various health care bills into law ahead of a midnight Sunday deadline. The following are a just few of the 140 that Brown signed.  

• Ø  One of the bills was designed to protect teenagers from skin cancer by making it illegal for teenagers younger than 18 to use tanning beds. California will be the first state to impose such a law. Currently, using tanning beds is illegal in California for those 14 and under, but teens ages 15-17 can tan with their parents’ permission. Public Health officials praised this decision quoting the statistic released by The Indoor Tanning Association that states 5% to10% of its customers are younger than 18. The bill, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2012, was also supported by the American Cancer Society.

• Ø  A second law is designed to protect teenagers from sexually transmitted diseases, allowing children as young as 12 to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV), without the consent of their parents. HPV is the leading the cause of cervical cancer. This topic has been hotly debated in the recent Republican presidential race. Public Health officials applaud the Governor for this decision claiming that it will slow the spread of disease among minors. Conservative politicians, pro-family organizations, and religious leaders are concerned about the loss of parents' rights to make decisions about their children's health. Currently, in California, minors are allowed access to confidential care for contraception, pregnancy, mental health care and drug abuse treatments.

• Ø  
Brown vetoed one health care bill which would have required extra warnings for the 40 
percent of women over 40 who have breast tissue dense enough to mask or mimic cancers on mammograms. Brown reportedly debated whether the warning was “a path to greater knowledge or unnecessary anxiety.”

• Ø  Another bill signed by the Governor was the safe patient handling law This bill would require an employer to maintain a safe patient handling policy for patient care units, and to provide trained lift teams or staff trained in safe lifting techniques in each general acute care hospital.  The safe patient handling policy would require the replacement of manual lifting and transferring of patients with powered patient transfer devices, lifting devices, or lift teams.  

• Ø  Governor Jerry Brown signed the Telehealth Advancement Act of 2011, opening the door for far-reaching expansion of telehealth services in California. This bill recognizes the importance of telehealth in providing access to health care, this bill was supported by the state’s telehealth stakeholders and leaders and passed with no opposing votes in the legislature. The California State Rural Health Association (CSRHA) sponsored this bill in worked collaboration with the Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP), the California Telemedicine and eHealth Center (CTEC), the California Telehealth Network (CTN) and many other health care organizations in the state.

• Ø  The governor also approved measures that required health insurers to provide coverage for autism and vetoed bills to legalize industrial hemp and to ban the practice of shackling pregnant inmates.

What are your thoughts on these issues???