Dr. Morales: "I have virtualized companions with whom I interact more than with those of the hospital"

The world of medicine moves.He is not taking steps of gigantic proportions, but he is getting that health professionals leave aside their repairs and phobias towards the digital and contemplate the possibilities that technologies can provide not only in their daily clinical practice, but also, in othersareas of your activity, such as during congresses or scientific meetings.

In some specialties, even groups of experts have emerged who are determined to take advantage of all the advantages of these 2.0 tools and “spread” more and more partners.It was demonstrated during the last National Congress of the Spanish Society of Diabetes held in Bilbao.

Endocrine, nutritionists, physical education experts and many other diabetes specialists added strength to make this congress one of the most visible on Twitter.Cristóbal Jesús Morales was there.The doctor of the Virgen Macarena University Hospital in Seville not only participated as a specialist in Endocrinology, but also had intense digital activity: it was the health professional that spread more information through its Twitter account.

Thanks to this, all people with profile in this microblogging network, or not attend the most important national event on diabetes, could instantly know the reflections and information that were being offered within the walls of the Euskalduna Congresses Palace."It was clear that there is no need to attend a congress to receive all the information that is poured into it," he says.

The patient's voice in scientific congresses

In an interview issued digitally healthy, with the collaboration of Sanofi, the doctor acknowledges that "it is a penalty that information as good as the one offered at the congresses is limited to the congress itself."And Twitter values ​​as an "extremely attractive" tool to approximate people and content, and give voice to the patient in these forums: "21st century medicine is a participatory medicine, in which, the patient's voice is very important.By regulations, not all content can be promoted, but since this world is changing so much and access to information is so accessible, we really have to walk to make the patient receive exact, reliable and normalized information and that theirvoice is increasingly present in these forums. ”

However, he emphasizes that the health sector "is starting to walk" in Universe 2.0: "At the professional level, we have to learn because Twitter gives us access to information, the latest articles, to debate with homologous specialists and allows us to interactwith primary care professionals, cardiology or even nursing.I have virtualized companions with whom I interact more than with my own endocrine companions of Seville. ”

He says that his baptism on Twitter was scarcely nine months ago: “As a doctor he was concerned with offering patients the best treatments and the best therapeutic solutions, the best diabetological education.And the fact of being able to incorporate the world 2.0 for your patients and colleagues made it baptized on Twitter. ”

the empowerment of the patient: from threat to ally

“If it looked like a threat from the medical point of view that the patient was informed, to access the Internet or go to social networks to inform himself, now the medical society has realized that he has to change and start seeingTechnology as an ally, ”says Dr. Cristóbal Jesús Morales.The endocrine of the Virgen Macarena University Hospital in Seville reflects on the advantages of the empowered patient: “When the patient isAutonomous and manager of his own disease, he will be much better: he will have better health results, he will have a better perception of the disease and will even influence other patients.That patient is a luxury. ”

He appeals to his health partners to learn to take advantage of all the strengths of technology for the managing patient of his illness: “The most important tool to treat these patients is diabetological education.We have to reach the patient as much as it may.The new technologies will facilitate that we can train it and make it a manager of his illness.As a health team, we have to know how to take advantage of the strengths of technology to make the patient manager of his illness ”

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