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SUGGESTION: What would accounts be like if you were a Mahalo Doctor?
Hi all!
You may have seen my other ton of Mahalo Suggestion designs and I created one for the suggestion by Jason about a health patrol (http://www.mahalo.com/answers/health/community-anyone-want-to-join-the-health-patrol)
So here is what a user icon may look like. It will have a green first aid cross on the bottom.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3299/3414700340_204441dcc2_o.png
This is what my page would look like. (Notice how I made cjd into dr. cjd and the health specialist)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3641/3414700470_d7c1005f16_o.png
You may have heard of @drshahriarbd, a doctor who frequently answers health questions on Mahalo. I have done a design for his profile.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3052/3414700206_455835ee96_o.jpg
What do you think everyone?
You may have seen my other ton of Mahalo Suggestion designs and I created one for the suggestion by Jason about a health patrol (http://www.mahalo.com/answers/health/community-anyone-want-to-join-the-health-patrol)
So here is what a user icon may look like. It will have a green first aid cross on the bottom.
This is what my page would look like. (Notice how I made cjd into dr. cjd and the health specialist)
You may have heard of @drshahriarbd, a doctor who frequently answers health questions on Mahalo. I have done a design for his profile.
What do you think everyone?
voted interesting: jason, karj, morriss003, csandoval, joyannj
answers (6)
I think this would be a great idea! I often visit WebMD, but some times end up leaving with more questions than answers. I definitely think people would benefit from having a few certified doctors around to answer health related questions.
| Asker's rating: |
@thekid - You designed your own interpretation, which shows a keen interest in this question! I love your designs and I appreciate your comments.
I would also like to say how much detailed discussion was provided in this question. Thanks for every who commented/answered this question - it is great to hear your thoughts!
cjd
I would also like to say how much detailed discussion was provided in this question. Thanks for every who commented/answered this question - it is great to hear your thoughts!
cjd
voted helpful: cjd
I think the problem with such things is that it puts mahalo in the position of confirming or denying someone's qualifications.
What do you do in the situation when you're dealing with international and multitudes of different rules and regulations for education, licensing or certification, or complete lacks thereof?
In addition, might it disadvantage people who might provide perfectly suitable answers to a question, but yet not have the 'official certification' and thus people may be disinclined to select their answers as best answer, helpful answer, or otherwise.
Already sometimes best answers get chosen because the way people write seem to give them an air of confidence or certainty of belief, and not necessarily because their answer is right.
What do you do in the situation when you're dealing with international and multitudes of different rules and regulations for education, licensing or certification, or complete lacks thereof?
In addition, might it disadvantage people who might provide perfectly suitable answers to a question, but yet not have the 'official certification' and thus people may be disinclined to select their answers as best answer, helpful answer, or otherwise.
Already sometimes best answers get chosen because the way people write seem to give them an air of confidence or certainty of belief, and not necessarily because their answer is right.
voted helpful: daigakuinsei, santus_lupinus, hishaman, cjd, littleghost, morriss003, hushnow
I have to agree with where you say "might it disadvantage people who might provide perfectly suitable answers to a question, but yet not have the 'official certification' and thus people may be disinclined to select their answers as best answer, helpful answer, or otherwise"
For example - you may have some very good information from a wide range of sources - but then another person may have very little information which may not be exactly correct but gets best answer because they are a doctor or a similar status.
My idea is that when you reach "GREEN BELT" that you can be awarded with a category that you specialize in the most. If you specialize in "health" then you can be a Health Specialist. If you specialize in"technology" then you can be a Technology Specialist etc.
Your suggestions?
For example - you may have some very good information from a wide range of sources - but then another person may have very little information which may not be exactly correct but gets best answer because they are a doctor or a similar status.
My idea is that when you reach "GREEN BELT" that you can be awarded with a category that you specialize in the most. If you specialize in "health" then you can be a Health Specialist. If you specialize in"technology" then you can be a Technology Specialist etc.
Your suggestions?
So are we going to have legal specialist?
If we're going to get real doctors and nurses, etc to answer health questions, I think we need to have a disclaimer on every health question page. It shoud say something along the lines of this information is not intended to diagnose illness, if you have a real emergency call 911 and something like the answers are only a guide to when you go see your doctor. Mahalo Answers will not replace a doctor's visit.
Consult your lawyers, write a good disclaimer because once we start getting specialists in, the door for lawsuits becomes wide open.
We need to make it clear that the user is assuming a risk when they ask questions here.
And... are we gonna have legal specialists? I'm just a law student but I've gotten really good at it!
Consult your lawyers, write a good disclaimer because once we start getting specialists in, the door for lawsuits becomes wide open.
We need to make it clear that the user is assuming a risk when they ask questions here.
And... are we gonna have legal specialists? I'm just a law student but I've gotten really good at it!
voted helpful: cjd, littleghost
That's two good ideas.
Firstly - mentioning at the bottom of each Health answer - AUTOMATICALLY says that Mahalo Answers will not replace a Doctor's visit and you should contact a Doctor for more advice.
Secondly - a legal specialist? Seems very good to me - except I don't see that many questions relating to Law on Mahalo.
cjd
Firstly - mentioning at the bottom of each Health answer - AUTOMATICALLY says that Mahalo Answers will not replace a Doctor's visit and you should contact a Doctor for more advice.
Secondly - a legal specialist? Seems very good to me - except I don't see that many questions relating to Law on Mahalo.
cjd
1. There are not enough disclaimers. I went into the category, I don't see anything in the category page. There should be a disclaimer right at the top of the category page. I click on a question. Again, no disclaimer. They appear only once, I believe and not again. I don't think that's enough. They should be all over if you want members to start claiming expertise. As soon as you claim expertise, the next logical step is malpractice unless you have enough disclaimers that a reasonable man will know they're assuming a risk.
(Seriously, click through health. I'm not lying when I say I see no disclaimers. I saw one once and it's gone.)
I'll give you an example. My father in law is a neurosurgeon. If an intern calls him up and he gives the intern the wrong instructions he can be sued.
If someone (albeit an idiot) comes here expecting real medical advice because there are real doctors on staff, the possibility of lawsuits starts to shine through. What we need is ubiquity of disclaimers. And then people will know they're doing this at their own risk and won't even think of suing or if they do, it's easier to get the suit thrown out.
It's also important to have the disclaimers because not only Mahalo can get sued but also the users personally. If there wasn't a disclaimer in every page I would not become a so-called specialist because the expectation of expertise always comes with a possibility of getting sued for making mistakes.
2. There's a legal category.
(Seriously, click through health. I'm not lying when I say I see no disclaimers. I saw one once and it's gone.)
I'll give you an example. My father in law is a neurosurgeon. If an intern calls him up and he gives the intern the wrong instructions he can be sued.
If someone (albeit an idiot) comes here expecting real medical advice because there are real doctors on staff, the possibility of lawsuits starts to shine through. What we need is ubiquity of disclaimers. And then people will know they're doing this at their own risk and won't even think of suing or if they do, it's easier to get the suit thrown out.
It's also important to have the disclaimers because not only Mahalo can get sued but also the users personally. If there wasn't a disclaimer in every page I would not become a so-called specialist because the expectation of expertise always comes with a possibility of getting sued for making mistakes.
2. There's a legal category.
As for the disclaimers, I believe they are on every page until you click don't show this message anymore. Perhaps we should just have some unobtrusive but always present warning on the same page as the question.
@pcmacdon1 I don't know. I really don't remember how my disclaimers disappeared but you're right, they should be unobtrusive but still there.
I found the "official certification" is a very interesting idea, I suggest the Mahalo should grantee and certify doctors by it's own way to be a part of the management of Mahalo website, and give this badge to the licensed doctors after investigate about them.
so.. every one who has the doctor badge will be known as a trusted person for Mahalo members. but of course it doesn't mean that people should stop seeing a doctor in person!
I like the green aid cross, very nice!
I think that you should think how to use this badges in feature, I think you will have a large set of icons as soon as you start with doctors :) so plz think about something that can contain feature development of Mahalo!
There is nothing impossible, there is only hard things!
so.. every one who has the doctor badge will be known as a trusted person for Mahalo members. but of course it doesn't mean that people should stop seeing a doctor in person!
I like the green aid cross, very nice!
I think that you should think how to use this badges in feature, I think you will have a large set of icons as soon as you start with doctors :) so plz think about something that can contain feature development of Mahalo!
There is nothing impossible, there is only hard things!
Hi hishaman,
Your probably the only person who has mentioned my designs! I am glad that you like the green cross - I took the feedback from the Facebook concept I did and put it into the Health concept I have just done.
That's right - a green cross badge will mean that that person has some qualifications related to health. This should be awarded not only for health but other categories - technology, law, maths etc.
However, does it make Mahalo's members useless. I have no qualifications like medicine as of yet - so members that do will be likely to get best answers because they are specialized in that subject and the person will automatically think "He is qualified, I will choose him/her".
Your probably the only person who has mentioned my designs! I am glad that you like the green cross - I took the feedback from the Facebook concept I did and put it into the Health concept I have just done.
That's right - a green cross badge will mean that that person has some qualifications related to health. This should be awarded not only for health but other categories - technology, law, maths etc.
However, does it make Mahalo's members useless. I have no qualifications like medicine as of yet - so members that do will be likely to get best answers because they are specialized in that subject and the person will automatically think "He is qualified, I will choose him/her".
Hi, cjd
I think it will limit users and set them to be qualified in some categories not everywhere they put an answer.
just think about it, as some members could find an answer from a doctor to a related to health question is more trusted than the answer he gets from a teacher or an engineer for example, so there will be limit's in Mahalo corners!
I think it will limit users and set them to be qualified in some categories not everywhere they put an answer.
just think about it, as some members could find an answer from a doctor to a related to health question is more trusted than the answer he gets from a teacher or an engineer for example, so there will be limit's in Mahalo corners!
I have concerns about this idea. I don't think that you should be able to turn off the disclaimer to begin with. Secondly, I am concerned with the legal and malpractice ramifications of certifying healthcare professionals on Mahalo. For one thing, with all this talk about certifying healthcare professionals no-one is talking about specialties. Being a doctor, nurse or other healthcare professional does not qualify a person to talk about all things medical.
For example, I have had a number of doctors tell me that it is impossible for pollen allergies to cause hives. These doctors did not have specialized experience in allergies and they were wrong. Pollen allergies, if severe enough can cause hives, they did with my son. He was diagnosed by his pediatrician who referred him to an allergist who confirmed that an allergy to trees was the source of the hives.
My second example is a bit more dangerous. A friend of mine, with high blood pressure was suffering from migraines. Her internist, not cardiologist, gave her a sample of Imitrex. He was aware that she was on high blood pressure medication. Imitrex is contraindicated for people suffering from high blood pressure and heart problems. It can cause heart problems in people who had no previous heart issues. If her doctor had given her a prescription, her pharmacist might have caught the error. As it was, she had a severe reaction and heart symptoms (she refused to go to the ER). As a long time mingrainer, even I knew of this possible problem. In fact the issue with Imitrex is such a strong one, that when it was only available in shot form many neurologists administered the medication in the office first.
The first error wasn't a big deal but the second one could have been lethal. I think that it is not necessarily a good idea to certify medical professionals. Would certifying people as such make Mahalo responsible for the content of their responses? I honestly think that keeping the disclaimers up and not allowing them to clicked off is more important.
For example, I have had a number of doctors tell me that it is impossible for pollen allergies to cause hives. These doctors did not have specialized experience in allergies and they were wrong. Pollen allergies, if severe enough can cause hives, they did with my son. He was diagnosed by his pediatrician who referred him to an allergist who confirmed that an allergy to trees was the source of the hives.
My second example is a bit more dangerous. A friend of mine, with high blood pressure was suffering from migraines. Her internist, not cardiologist, gave her a sample of Imitrex. He was aware that she was on high blood pressure medication. Imitrex is contraindicated for people suffering from high blood pressure and heart problems. It can cause heart problems in people who had no previous heart issues. If her doctor had given her a prescription, her pharmacist might have caught the error. As it was, she had a severe reaction and heart symptoms (she refused to go to the ER). As a long time mingrainer, even I knew of this possible problem. In fact the issue with Imitrex is such a strong one, that when it was only available in shot form many neurologists administered the medication in the office first.
The first error wasn't a big deal but the second one could have been lethal. I think that it is not necessarily a good idea to certify medical professionals. Would certifying people as such make Mahalo responsible for the content of their responses? I honestly think that keeping the disclaimers up and not allowing them to clicked off is more important.
@cjd
I like this idea!, but how about look at it a bit differently!
Instead of an official certification, how about badges be given to members who answer a specific field of questions correctly.
Also why limit these badges only to the medical field ?
These could encompass a hole host of fields.
THIS WOULD BE EXCELLENT!
Thanks for spawning such a great discussion too cjd!
I like this idea!, but how about look at it a bit differently!
Instead of an official certification, how about badges be given to members who answer a specific field of questions correctly.
Also why limit these badges only to the medical field ?
These could encompass a hole host of fields.
THIS WOULD BE EXCELLENT!
Thanks for spawning such a great discussion too cjd!
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Being able to state the professions of the members of Mahalo would help to provide answers from professional people that have a clear knowledge of that particular subject.
What do you think of the designs?
I really like your left design it seems very clean and sleek and prefer it more to the one on the right. Well done for putting the effort into this answer and for actually creating a design for yourself.