Authors
Department of Community Medicine, PGIMER, Chandigarh, India
Abstract
Due to the short span available for consultation with clinicians, patients try to become well versed
with their clinical conditions before the medical consultation. They search Google for their medical
information; here comes the problem of authenticity of the sources. It is very difficult to obtain authentic
medical information for the patients from the Internet. As a result, sometimes, patients ask questions
to the overburdened doctors and irritate them. To solve this problem and wider dissemination of
authentic medical knowledge, the existing website of Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education
and Research (PGIMER) has been utilized. In PGIMER, Chandigarh, health education materials in
text and video formats have been uploaded on the PGIMER website for empowering patients. All
these have been successfully tested in the outpatient departments of PGIMER, Chandigarh. To our
knowledge, this unique approach is the first of its kind in India. We hope this approach of sharing
medical information through the PGIMER website may help patient empowerment to a large extent.
Later, this concept can be replicated in all medical colleges in India.
Keywords
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The missing links. Indian J Nephrol 2019;29:221‑31.
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Educ Res 2014;48:159.
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22. Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research,
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interaction improves outcomes in patients suffering from mild
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29. Bhattacharya S, Pradhan KB, Bashar MA, Tripathi S, Semwal
J, Marzo RR, Bhattacharya S, Singh A. Artificial intelligence
enabled healthcare: A hype, hope or harm. J Family Med Prim
Care 2019;8:3461-4.
30. Bhattacharya S, Singh A, Hossain MM. Strengthening public
health surveillance through blockchain technology. AIMS Public
Health 2019;6:326-33.
31. Bhattacharya S. Predicting emerging and re-emerging disease
outbreaks through internet search trends: An analysis from India.
AIMS Public Health 2019;6:1-3.
32. Bhattacharya S, Sharma N, Hoedebecke K, Hossain MM,
Gökdemir, Singh A. Harnessing the potential of uploading health
educational materials on medical institutions' social media for
controlling emerging and re-emerging disease outbreaks. J Edu
Health Promot 2020;9:213.
33. Bhattacharya S, Singh A, Hossain MM. Health system
strengthening through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
during the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis from the available
evidence. J Edu Health Promot 2020;9:195.
34. Bhattacharya S, Pradhan KB, Singh A, Semwal J, Srivastava AK,
Hossain M. Inequality and the future of healthcare. J Family Med
Prim Care 2019;8:3779-82.
35. Sultana A, Sharma R, Hossain MM, Bhattacharya S, Purohit N.
Burnout among healthcare providers during Covid-19: Challenges
and evidencebased interventions. Indian J Med Ethics. Published
online on July 4, 2020. DOI:10.20529/IJME.2020.73.
Relationships. London: Penguin UK; 2010. p. 176.
2. Bhattacharya S, Kaushal K, Singh A. Medical violence (Yi Nao
Phenomenon): Its past, present, and future. CHRISMED J Health
Res 2018;5:259.
3. Diaz JA, Griffith RA, Ng JJ, Reinert SE, Friedmann PD,
Moulton AW, et al. Patients’ use of the internet for medical
information. J Gen Intern Med 2002;17:180‑5.
4. Eysenbach G, Diepgen TL. Patients looking for information on
the internet and seeking teleadvice: Motivation, expectations, and
misconceptions as expressed in e‑mails sent to physicians. Arch
Dermatol 1999;135:151‑6.
5. Eysenbach G, Sa ER, Diepgen TL. Cybermedicine. Interview by
Clare Thompson. BMJ 1999;319:1294.
6. Ambesh P. Violence against doctors in the Indian subcontinent:
A rising bane. Indian Heart J 2016;68:749‑50.
7. KumarM, VermaM, DasT, PardeshiG, Kishore J, PadmanandanA.
A study of workplace violence experienced by doctors and
associated risk factors in a tertiary care hospital of South Delhi,
India. J Clin Diagn Res 2016;10:LC06‑10.
8. Agarwal SK. Healthcare in India and violence against doctors:
The missing links. Indian J Nephrol 2019;29:221‑31.
9. Ghosh K. Violence against doctors: A wake‑up call. Indian J Med
Res 2018;148:130‑3.
10. Kapoor MC. Violence against the medical profession.
J Anaesthesiol Clin Pharmacol 2017;33:145‑7.
11. Doctors in India see Patients for Barely 2 Minutes:
Study India News‑Times of India. Available from:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/
doctors‑in‑india‑see‑patients‑for‑barely‑2‑minutes‑study/
articleshow/61570077.cms. [Last accessed on 2019 May 20].
12. Armstrong S. Social networking for patients. BMJ 2016;354:i4201.
13. Kaba R, Sooriakumaran P. The evolution of the doctor‑patient
relationship. Int J Surg 2007;5:57‑65.
14. Dorr Goold S, Lipkin M Jr. The doctor‑patient relationship:
Challenges, opportunities, and strategies. J Gen Intern Med
1999;14 Suppl 1:S26‑33.
15. Lázaro J, Gracia D. The doctor‑patient relationship in history. An
Sist Sanit Navar 2006;29 Suppl 3:7‑17.
16. Morrell P. Social class, educational status and trust in
doctors. 2019 Oct 29 [cited 2019 Oct 31]; Available from:
https://www.bmj.com/rapid‑response/2011/10/28/
social‑class‑educational‑status‑and‑trust‑doctors
17. Brandling J, House W. Social prescribing in general practice:
Adding meaning to medicine. Br J Gen Pract 2009;59:454‑6.
18. Banerjee A, Sanyal D. Dynamics of doctor‑patient relationship:
A cross‑sectional study on concordance, trust, and patient
enablement. J Family Community Med 2012;19:12‑9.
19. Bhattacharya S, Singh A. “Taste Modification”‑A New Strategy
for Reduction of Salt Intake among Indian Population. Epidem
Int 2016; 1 (2): 44‑ 50.
20. Kaur T, Dudeja P, Sharma M, Jain V, Singh A. Impact of running
a behavior therapy room for various categories of urinary
incontinence cases in different age groups in obstetrics‑gynecology outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital. J Postgrad Med
Educ Res 2014;48:159.
21. Kumari S, Jain V, Mandal AK, Singh A. Behavioral therapy
for urinary incontinence in India. Int J Gynaecol Obstet
2008;103:125‑30.
22. Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research,
Chandigarh. Available from: http://pgimer.edu.in/PGIMER_
PORTAL/PGIMERPORTAL/home.jsp. [Last accessed on
2019 May 20].
23. Sharma M. Conservative therapy through adequate doctor patient
interaction improves outcomes in patients suffering from mild
and moderate knee osteoarthritis. Int J Health Care Educ Med
Inform 2018;04:1‑2.
24. Harari YN. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. London: Jonathan
Cape; 2018. p. 368.
25. Homo Deus. Yuval Noah Harari. Available from: https://
www.ynharari.com/book/homo‑deus/. [Last accessed on
2019 May 14].
26. Where Machines Could Replace Humans – and where they
can’t (yet) McKinsey. Available from: https://www.mckinsey.
com/business‑functions/digital‑mckinsey/our‑insights/where‑
machines‑could‑replace‑humans‑and-where‑they‑cant‑yet. [Last
accessed on 2019 Feb 15].
27. A l l e n D M J r . H o w A r t i f i c i a l I n t e l l i g e n c e i s
Transforming the world. Brookings; 2018. Available
from: https://www.brookings.edu/research/
how‑artificial‑intelligence‑is‑transforming‑the‑world/. [Last
accessed on 2019 May 14].
28. Tomasik B. Artificial Intelligence and its Implications for Future
Suffering. Foundational Research Institute; 2015. Available
from: https://foundational‑research.org/artificial‑intelligenc
e‑and‑its‑implications‑for-future‑suffering. [Last accessed on
2019 May 14].
29. Bhattacharya S, Pradhan KB, Bashar MA, Tripathi S, Semwal
J, Marzo RR, Bhattacharya S, Singh A. Artificial intelligence
enabled healthcare: A hype, hope or harm. J Family Med Prim
Care 2019;8:3461-4.
30. Bhattacharya S, Singh A, Hossain MM. Strengthening public
health surveillance through blockchain technology. AIMS Public
Health 2019;6:326-33.
31. Bhattacharya S. Predicting emerging and re-emerging disease
outbreaks through internet search trends: An analysis from India.
AIMS Public Health 2019;6:1-3.
32. Bhattacharya S, Sharma N, Hoedebecke K, Hossain MM,
Gökdemir, Singh A. Harnessing the potential of uploading health
educational materials on medical institutions' social media for
controlling emerging and re-emerging disease outbreaks. J Edu
Health Promot 2020;9:213.
33. Bhattacharya S, Singh A, Hossain MM. Health system
strengthening through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
during the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis from the available
evidence. J Edu Health Promot 2020;9:195.
34. Bhattacharya S, Pradhan KB, Singh A, Semwal J, Srivastava AK,
Hossain M. Inequality and the future of healthcare. J Family Med
Prim Care 2019;8:3779-82.
35. Sultana A, Sharma R, Hossain MM, Bhattacharya S, Purohit N.
Burnout among healthcare providers during Covid-19: Challenges
and evidencebased interventions. Indian J Med Ethics. Published
online on July 4, 2020. DOI:10.20529/IJME.2020.73.
)