The document discusses the concept of information therapy, emphasizing the empowerment of patients through access to medical information to make informed health decisions in partnership with their doctors. It highlights the challenges in doctor-patient communication and the need for improved empathy and interaction. The organization aims to promote patient education by providing resources, advocating for information therapy, and establishing a national network of patient education centers.

1. Information Therapy and the Empowered Patient Dr Malpani, MD Founder HELP – Health Education Library for People

2. Patients are unhappy with the medical profession Seen to be uncaring Money-minded Doctors are too busy to talk or to explain Overtesting Overtreatment Too expensive Move to alternative medicine Long for the family doctor of the past…

3. Doctor versus Patient Indian patients are becoming increasingly articulate – they want more information about their medical conditions Unfortunately their doctors do not have the time to provide them this information in detail

4. Results ? Doctor –shopping Doctors get beaten up and arrested Hospitals get burnt down Doctors go on strike Everyone suffers !

5. Doctor and Patient We are all on the same side – the patients’ Medicine is a service profession Doctors like helping patients Want them to get better How can we create a win-win situation ?

6. Information Therapy ! Information Therapy is Powerful Medicine ! Help patients to make better health decisions Patients are the largest untapped healthcare resource ! Empower them with information – so they can take better care of themselves , in partnership with their doctor.

7. Don’t underestimate your abilities ! 1. You are smart . With the right tools, you can make the right decisions ! 2. Knowledge is Power ! 3. Your doctor is your partner 4. You cannot afford to leave everything upto God – or upto the doctor !

8. HELP helps you save money on medical care 1. Promote SelfCare . Help you to do as much for yourself as you can, so you are not completely dependent on the doctor 2. Provide Evidence-Based Guidelines , so you can ask for the right medical treatment that they need - no more and no less 3. Help you with Veto Power, so you can say No to medical care you don’t need, thus preventing overtesting and unnecessary surgery .

9. We help doctors to talk to patients ! Improve doctor patient communication Help doctors to look at things from the patient’s point of view ! Improve empathy and their bedside manner Help them to get more patients ! Help them to reduce risk of lawsuits

10. My personal experience I learn a lot from my patients ! If you treat patients with respect, they will respect you in return Patients get the doctors they deserve – and doctors get the patients they deserve Well-informed patients are easier to treat, because they have realistic expectations

11. We help patients to talk to doctors ! Demystify jargon Remove the fear Provide them with the tools they need Help patients to make sense of what is happening to them The quality of your doctor’s answers depend upon the quality of your questions !

13. How do you find this information ? Google is great ! 24/7 Free Great for quick and dirty searches Instant access from home

14. But – Internet searches can be frustrating Get lost Information can be unreliable Confusing Conflicting information Not updated Whom do you trust ? Need handholding – especially in an area like medicine !

15. Internet positive patients Frustrated Confused Frustrate doctors as well

16. Google and libraries It’s NOT google v/s libraries People who use google are the ones who will use libraries ! They ask questions. They trust – then verify ! Check and re-check – due diligence Knowledge is power ! Click and mortar complementary approach - use both !

17. Perfect for people who’ve already done a google search; and then need help Librarians – human infomediaries Librarian-mediated search Provide hand-holding Guides – online and the real-world !

22. What we provide Easy to read materials – for patients and by patients Wide variety of styles – from single page pamphlet to books Comprehensive – from stress management, exercise, diet, all illnesses, alternative medicine Over 300 DVDs

23. Brief history Established in 1997 Mission - to empower people by providing them with the information they need to promote their health , and prevent and treat medical problems in the family in partnership with their doctor. We are a registered charitable trust and a non-profit organisation.

24. HELP Talks Free talks daily Doctors, alternative medicines experts and by patients ( Expert Patient) Partnership with Times of India Foundation Wide range of topics Longest running series of health talks ( Limca Book of Records) , ongoing since 3 years

25. Outreach activities Courier information ( fee charged) Email information – free value-add service Health ezine for corporates

26. Services for doctors MDConsult ( World’s largest online medical library) subscriptions as reduced prices

27. Our focus areas now are: 1. encouraging health insurance companies to invest in patient education 2. advocating information therapy 3. setting up a national network of patient education centers 4. developing patient educational materials in Indian languages for the web

28. HELP is growing ! National Network Every hospital should have a Patient Education Resource Center Win-win situation Great tool to empower patients Helps doctors and hospitals too !

29. New locations Mini-libraries in pharmacies Mini-libraries in medical laboratories Mini-libraries in clinics

30. How do we grow ? Corporate Partners Win win ! CSR 80G benefits Health insurance companies are the best fit - dollar spent on patient education is 10 dollars saved ( on unnecessary testing and surgery)

31. Why libraries will always be useful ! Data v/s Information v/s Knowledge v/s Wisdom Libraries and librarians help transmute information into knowledge