Lane Library Presents Patel's Picks: Healthwise

Patel’s Picks: Healthwise

To My Stanford Healthcare Colleagues, (…Who also try to keep patients away from the depths of misinformation and fear-inducing internet content…),

I’m here to raise awareness about an easy-to-access, validated patient education tool that contains hundreds of quick, helpful videos: Healthwise. Healthwise has a massive library of quick videos that provide timely, validated information to our patients when they need it.

Also, it’s a platform that is more vetted than social media.

Patients and families ask me questions about everything from autoimmune disease, to antibiotics, to feeding tubes, to imaging, all based on videos they find online – some of the videos are valid, others are way out in misinformation left-field. We aren’t going to stop our patients from diving into the depths of the internet to research health topics, that’s a given.

I really began to research topics on Healthwise’s platform, purely out of curiosity, and was surprised by the detail and variety of topics. I recently had a family member watch a few videos on pediatric asthma care, including a video of asthma inhaler use and another on an asthma action plan. The videos reinforced inpatient teaching and helped this family get a sense of asthma care for their young child.

video thumbnail for "Asthma: Is Your Child Using the Quick-Relief Inhaler Too Often?" video. Image a boy using a quick release inhaler with caregiver help.

The library goes far beyond common diagnoses. There are sections on wellness/prevention, life stages, complementary medicine, environmental health, and more with topics such as: “Living with a Pacemaker”, “Learning about Peripheral Nerve Blocks for Your Child”, “Rotator Cuff Surgery” and “How and When to Give Naloxone.” I even saw one titled “Tips to Help Your Teens Manage Money” which I should probably watch on my own…

With that being said, check out this link to explore videos for yourself!!

video thumbnail of "How and When to give Naloxone" with a illustration of a person receiving naloxone intranasally.
video thumbnail of "Arrhythmia: Living with a Pacemaker" showing a man being screened with a hand-held metal detector.
video thumbnail "Learning about Peripheral Nerve Blocks for Your Child” with illustration of a nerve
video thumbnail for "Rotator Cuff Surgery" with illustration of rotator cuff

video thumbnail for "6 Tips to Help Your Teen Manage Money" with a parent and teen talking

Alok Patel photo

~ Alok Patel MD

Pediatric Hospitalist

Lane Library Clinical Informationist

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