Communicating Rare Diseases and Disorders in the Digital Age

Book excerpt: A primary concern of rare disease diagnosis is the lack of accurate information that may lead to delayed interventions, administering inaccurate treatments, and social consequences. Health communication continues to be one-way and rely on the expertise from the health practitioner. In such a broad spectrum of rare diseases, patients may find it difficult to obtain timely information, accurate diagnosis, and appropriate treatments, surgeries, medications, or psychological counseling in their own countries. The use of information and communication technologies can create new communication channels that address this lack of knowledge. Communicating Rare Diseases and Disorders in the Digital Age is an essential reference source that uses computer-mediated communication to improve patient knowledge when afflicted or dealing with rare health conditions. Featuring research on topics such as support networking, eHealth management, and social computing, this book is ideally designed for health practitioners, physicians, patients, medical administrators, nurses, surgeons, infectious disease educators, hospital directors, world health organizations, academicians, students, and researchers seeking coverage on current advances in health communication, computer science, and epidemiology.