Bedside Blogging – CarePages

Some people blog looking for fame.  Other bloggers are searching for their fortune.  This week I was introduced to a new universe of bloggers – those who blog for support and help as they struggle with a more basic need – the need to be healthy.  CarePages is an online community of millions of people coming together to share the challenges, hopes and triumphs of anyone facing a life changing health event.

I was introduced to CarePages this week by a friend who is in the hospital dealing with a number of side effects from Diabetes.   Upon receiving an invitation to join his blog on CarePages, I signed onto CarePages and within moments I was reading about his situation.  As the nurses gave him updates, he posted the news and when he was released I found out about it via an email from CarePages letting me know about a new posting on his CarePages blog.

In many ways CarePages is nothing more than a simple blog.  In this case the hospital where my friend was staying had cobranded the CarePage tools and made them available to patients.  CarePages reports that over 700 health care providers offer the CarePages service to more than four million members worldwide.

Essentially, the patient now has a dedicated blog that is up and running in minutes from their hospital bed (assuming the hospital has ethernet ports or Wi-Fi).  CarePages offers a few key features: the ability to update many people with one message; the ability to make the pages private; the ability to invite only specific people, as you may not want all your friends to know about your hospital stay.

Twitter or Facebook could help with the messaging – but CarePages excels at managing the privacy of your data.  Likewise, a traditional blog could meet all these same needs, but when you are surprised by a hospital stay you don’t have the time to build your blog.

Even beyond a hospital stay, social media is rapidly becoming an integral part of the health care experience for millions of people. One study, for example, found that nearly one in four online health searchers turn to online content created by others in similar situations or to online social communities where they can interact with these individuals to share experiences about a disease or condition.

Journaling can be therapeutic, especially during times of stress.  Blogging is just the electronic extension of a journal or diary and some physicians are incorporating it into patient treatment. CarePages is one way for those struggling with a health issue to gain a sense of comfort and control – and in that regard it’s one of best uses of blogging that I have seen.

Written by David Silversmith from Info Musing
Posted on July 28th, 2009 and filed under Blogging
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