GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Instant messaging could be used to guide patients seeking care from hospital emergency rooms, thereby reducing expenses, according to a first-year student in MSU's College of Human Medicine who won an essay contest sponsored by the New England Journal of Medicine.
Andrew M. Williams' essay submission argued for the use of instant messaging in the emergency room with potential patients to reduce expensive, non-urgent visits. The 500-word essay contest asked students to discuss ways to utilize the Internet and social media to improve health.
He argued an online system would be cost-effective and in the best interest of patients who have to navigate through the health care system.
"An instant messaging feature on the emergency department website would allow patients to communicate their symptoms by text, photo and video with a health professional, who could then inform them about the urgency of their condition," Williams wrote in his essay.
"This feedback would allow patients to make informed decisions about whether to address their condition by coming to the emergency department, visiting an urgent care facility, making an appointment with a primary care physician or using over-the-counter medications."
Williams' winning entry guarantees him entrance to the 200th Anniversary Dialogues in Medicine hosted by the New England Journal of Medicine. The full-day symposium, held at the Harvard Medical School campus on June 22, will explore how medicine has interfaced with society to improve people's lives over the past two centuries. Student access to the event was based on the essay contest.
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