Frederick Noronha on Fri, 26 May 2000 09:41:23 +0200 (CEST) |
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<nettime> Digital library-health (India) |
JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED: SOME INFORMATION FOR YOU An unusual library in Mumbai offers help to those wanting information on medical issues. Those unable to come can rely on something quaintly acronymed MISS-HELP (Medical Information Search Service for HELP). In keeping with the cyberage, HELP's Internet link even provides info on the latest medical research from all over the globe. HELP has become a prototype of the modern digital library too. By Frederick Noronha Does diabeties plague someone in your family? Having a problem with fitness, exercise or nutrition during pregnancy? Want access to support groups, or worried grey about what you can do to help your child with disability? Rx: Knowledge. Does this prescription seem strange? Rather than lengthy prescriptions for various pills, an unusual service in the Indian city of Mumbai advocates that the best prescription for the patient is knowledge! It strongly makes out a case that the best patient is a well-informed one. Even from a doctor's point of view. HELP (the Health Education Library for People), located in the Indian city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) is the largest medical- consumer library in the world, says UNESCO. It is packed with information, and its shelves have books enough to once comprise a mini tropical rainforest. Each day, it draws both general and specialised visitors. "People often feel that medical issues are too esoteric. We're trying to overcome that. The idea is to educate them so they don't get mislead or misguided. Patients shouldn't be made into a guinea-pig or taken advantage of just because they're not very well versed with medical knowledge," says the lady doctor who guided this journalist round the centre during a recent visit. "In order to encourage the rational use of drugs, rather than focus only on medical practitioners, I feel we need to concentrate on patients as well," adds HELP founder Dr Aniruddha Malpani. This, notes Malpani, makes sense. Patients themselves have the "most to lose" if drugs are started unwisely by them. "We have access to information on every health and medical topic under the sun, explained in terms that the layperson can understand," says Dr Malpani confidently. "We are a public library. Everyone is welcome. Entry is free," is the motto of HELP. Institutional members have to pay though. Those unable to come personally can also send in queries via post or email. They can rely on something quaintly acronymed MISS-HELP (Medical Information Search Service for HELP). In keeping with the cyberage, HELP's Internet link even provides info on the latest medical research from all over the globe. HELP has become a prototype of the modern digital library too. Its web site http://www.healthlibrary.com has many full-text health books and magazines. So visitors can browse them for free. Each month the site receives some 60,000 visitors (500,000 hits), says HELP. "This lets us extend our outreach services by providing consumer health information to Internet users from all over the world," adds Dr Malpani proudly. This initiative was launched by Drs. Aniruddha and Anjali Malpani, famous fertility specialists. They found that patients abroad were well-aware of medical issues, as against ignorance reigning here. Its visitors currently include a lot of lay people, journalists, researchers, medical students and interns, housewives, senior citizens and even some very reputed doctors. Many queries come in via email too, says Dr Hufrisha Suraliwala, a dentist and the medical information manager. It is run by a non-profit trust. Currently, it has 50 CDroms, 500 video cassettes, 7000 books and pamphlets, kits, newsletters and journals. All is free of medical-jargon and is focussed at the consumer. "There's not a single book from the medical curriculum," says Dr Suraliwala proudly. "It's a consumer library, meant to provide information to the layman. Doctors can easily find their own information; but this often proves to be very difficult for the average person." Information doesn't come in only from the world of allopathy. Other curative means of medicine are also used -- including homeopathy, ayurveda, music therapy, the now-growing in popularity Reiki, Taichi, Yoga, Massage Therapy, Aromatheraphy, Unani, Accupressure, Acupuncture, and even -- believe it or not - - something as exotic as tickle-theraphy. There's even information from the world of nutrition, dietetics, medical resources, sports medicine, spiritual healing, and mind- body medicine. On each first and third Saturday, lectures of medical importance are held at the library. HELP's aim is to promote healthy doctor-patient relationships by informing the patients better. It says it also wants to prove to be a useful resource for writers and journalists, as this could improve the quality and accuracy of reporting on medical topics by the mainstream media. In addition, it hopes that over time it could act as a stimulus for patients with a particular disease to get together, form self-help groups, and help each other cope with their diseases. More knowledge could also prevent health fraud and quackery. "Ultimately we hope that well-informed patients will demand the best treatment available, and this will act as an incentive for doctors to update their skills and for hospitals to improve their facilities," adds Dr Malpani. This air-conditioned reading room can set upto 25. Computerised information allows for speedy searches for pinpointing information needed. Photocopying is charged at Rs 1 per page, reasonable by local standards. HELP also has access to specialised foreign medical databases like MEDLINE, Cancerlit, AIDSLINE and HealthStar to answer queries. On sending in a query, the confidential reply comes on about 50-100 pages or on floppy in seven days, by registered post. Of course, this is not meant to be a substitute for the doctor! "People in India often don't bother to take a second or third opinion on even major health issues. They take everything lying down, and don't bother to research their condition," says Dr Suraliwala. HELP is also trying to get doctors to "prescribe information". It has printed Information Prescription pads, which are freely distributed to doctors on request. Instead of just giving a list of medicine, the doctor could suggest to the patient what he or she needs to know about the disease or ailment. Doctors can thus indirectly educate their patients with a Prescription for Information. Then, doctors need to discuss the results of this information search with the patient, so that the doctor can guide patients to locate which information is relevant to their particular problem. There's perhaps no better way about information the patient as to what's important for him or her, believes this centre. Doctors and patients can become partners in making medical decisions. (Third World Network Features) **************************************************************** CONTACTS: HELP - Health Education Library for People can be contacted via telephone (022) 368 3334 or 368 1014. Fax 91.22.215 0223 Email: helplib@giasbm01.vsnl.net.in or helplib@bigfoot.com and via the Internet http://www.healthlibrary.com **************************************************************** # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net