Using Information Technology To Look After Yourself Properly

Hi folks, welcome!

I am going to tell you about some software that I like, but I was not asked to do this by anyone, including the vendor. If this were an advertisement I would say so in order to follow the rules of ethical blogging. Just thought I would say that up front, as being up front is important to me.

If you have a health challenge it is critical that you gain as much understanding of your issues as possible. A great deal of information is available on the Internet, but the problem isn’t information, usually. The challenge really lies in gaining the knowledge that you will need to interpret this information, and the wisdom required to apply such knowledge effectively. However, irrespective of your education, I would like to suggest that you try to invest some time, and even money, in attempting to understand what is happening to you and how you should approach the rest of your life, especially when it comes to exercise. In many cases it was a lack of exercise, combined with poor diet and other environmental variables plus unlucky genes, that got you into this mess in the first place, be it diabetes, heart attack, stroke, or osteoporosis, for instance. My approach to my aortic aneurysm was to research the data, understand it, and make my decisions accordingly, along with the guidance of the few health professionals I trusted to provide meaningful input. But I have a veterinary and biological research background, which puts me ahead of many of you. But it is still your problem, whether you like it or not.

I wrote a post a while ago laying out steps that you might take to explore your health challenge, and increase your chances of fixing it. For good reasons I entitled this post, “Do You Want To Fix Your Health Problem, Or Do You Just Want It To Go Away?” What I meant was, do you want to do some of the work needed to get you back on track or do you want to abdicate all responsibility for this task to your doctor or other health care providers. There are lots of tools out there to help you, including forums for discussion with your peers. I just tested (30 day free trial) and bought ($97) a software package that I really like a lot. It is called Market Samurai, and I found it through my online training at The Challenge. This training has been very helpful, but it is clear that they are trying to market software that they like, and they do say so up front, which earns my respect.

So why do I want people with health challenges to consider this type of tool? Because they need access to the best possible information, of course. When it comes to converting information into knowledge the best tool is a good book, often a textbook. It takes time, but the rewards are tremendous. You don’t have to go to college to be a good student.

I look at lots of software, but this program is really helpful for information retrieval. Click on image to see more clearly, and click return to go back to blog. From: http://www.marketsamurai.com/

In order to understand the process of gaining information in today’s world it is essential that you come up to speed on information retrieval (Informatics). Google is not the only tool! But it is free, in a way, and then again they are watching you and selling the information they retrieve from watching you, if I understand this issue correctly. The most important search tool that I know of is the keyword or search term (which can consist of multiple words). The most appropriate keyword will get you the best information, but the strength of keywords is a function of how other people think and whether it has multiple meanings. For instance, if you want to find out what older people are doing, you could use the word ‘senior’ in your search term, but you will be swamped with material for high school and college seniors. I learned that one early on. I have inserted a figure I generated using Market Samurai, a tool that you can try out on your own health issue for free for 30 days. The figure reveals lots of information about the simple search term, ‘safe training stent.’ I then used the software to output the information generated to Google so that I could take a look at what is out there. My interest lies in finding my business niche and understanding the competition. I found, however, that this software works well for just about any online information retrieval task.

Give it a try and you’ll be pleasantly surprised, I think. Then find people to help you interpret the information and gain the wisdom you need. You can then challenge, and in fact assist, your doctors or other health care providers from a strong foundation. Then you will actually be looking after yourself, as you should.

It just takes a little effort and you are worth it, don’t you think?

-k Your Medical Mind