Online Nursing Degree Guide http://onlinenursingdegreeguide.org Find the Best Online Nursing Schools Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:54:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 en The Ultimate Medical Privacy Guide: 100 Tools and Resources to Secure Your Health Records http://onlinenursingdegreeguide.org/2008/the-ultimate-medical-privacy-guide/ http://onlinenursingdegreeguide.org/2008/the-ultimate-medical-privacy-guide/#comments Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:43:10 +0000 admin http://onlinenursingdegreeguide.org/?p=416 Have you heard the positive points about putting your health records online? Or, like many, are you concerned about security and privacy issues about using your credit card online, let alone adding your health records to a Web-based program? If you stand in either camp, you’re not alone. But, even online health record advocates are leery about security.

With that fear in mind, the following list contains 100 tools and resources you can use to make an informed decision about this issue. Health records have, historically, been protected by regulations that protect the patient’s privacy. An online venue, on the other hand, requires different measures to secure sensitive information. So, we’ve included links to opinions about health record security, tools that will help you understand new regulations and technology that centers on health industry security, blogs that focus on frequently updated news about this movement, and background information on eHealth, Health 2.0 and law support for various health issues.

The information below is numbered, but that does not mean we value one source over another. All links, except the “Opinions” listed immediately below, are listed in alphabetical order beneath their headings.

Opinions

If you’re informed on the issue about moving patient records to an online venue, then the articles listed below may seem like old hat. However, since these articles are dated for 2008, you’ll see that the debate about security and privacy continues. The articles listed below include pros and cons, information for the uneducated, and points to consider if you’re concerned about the ability to use online health records and the security of those health records:

  1. Cutting to chase of Personal Health Record debate: Dana Blankenhorn at ZDNet argues that doctor resistance over online personal health records (PHRs) centers around their loss of control; See also: Even young doctors paralyzed by health record debate, where the same author states that, “I think a lot of EHR [Electronic Health Records] outfits are going to go bankrupt before 2009.”
  2. Most Doctors Aren’t Using Electronic Health Records: Steve Lohr at the New York Times notes in June this year notes that “national survey found that electronic records were used in less than 9 percent of small offices with one to three doctors, where nearly half of the country’s doctors practice medicine.”
  3. Web Health Records May Save Time, Money: But Electronic Records’ Use Requires Care and Thought: iStockAnalyst noted in an August editorial that, while “PHRs hold significant promise,” yet they note ongoing questions about security and privacy risks.
  4. PHR Advocates Push for More Privacy, Security Measures: iHealthBeat reports that “companies like Microsoft and Google are not under the purview of HIPAA medical privacy rules, consumer control of PHRs could open up access to patient information and raise the possibility of marketing and false advertising efforts by outside parties.”
  5. Finding a Cure for Data Loss: Jamie Reid at Security Focus states, “personal information databases are tremendously valuable and with that value comes risk that, until very recently, has been ignored.” Although health records aren’t mentioned here, his thoughts and examples of security leaks are relevant to understand any online information risk.
  6. Personal Health Records Online? Just Say No!: Trisha Torrey at About.com states that, “PHRs can’t be private and they can’t be secure, despite what the hosts tell you.” Trisha also hosts the About.com blog on Patient Empowerment, and a personal site for patient advocacy.
  7. Bringing Health Records Online: Catherine Holahan at Business Week’s TechWeek is positive about the push for online health records. Comments after the article bring up as many interesting points as the actual report.
  8. Heart Scare Prompts Health Care IT Crusade: Alexander Wolfe at InformationWeek uses personal experience to call on a health care IT revolution, including online health records. But, Wolfe notes, “The way things have been set up, legislatively speaking, we’re not properly positioned to do them [online records].”
  9. Web health records may save time, money: The Minnesota-based Star Tribune offers an editorial that states, “PHRs hold allure for providers and patients.” However, this positive outlook on PHRs is tempered by the opinion that - as previously noted - online health records carry risks.
  10. Who’s reading your medical files today?: Sue Blevins at The Christian Science Monitor invokes fear about putting medical records online, especially over vague and somewhat misleading HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act - see list below) guidelines. Blevins, president of the The Institute for Health Freedom, lays out some valid points in a very recent article.

HIT

Health Information Technology (HIT) is a new trend that will, eventually, help individuals maintain their health through better management of their health information, both online and ‘in-hand’. HIT is a new field; therefore, it is controversial. HIT has its converts amongst health professionals, but few have yet to adopt the technology that can help individuals through this transition from written to computerized records (see #2 above). Much needs to be done regarding privacy and record safety, but the converts are working to make the transition as smooth as possible on the tech level. The following HIT sites, mainly blogs, represent the tip of the iceberg regarding information about HIT from health care professionals. These writings will help you stay on top of new developments in this field:

  1. Chilmark Research: Chilmark Research is a healthcare industry analyst firm that focuses on the rapid evolution in technology, policy and health consumerism which they feel will culminate in the home being the future center of healthcare.
  2. Future of Health IT: Trends and Scenarios: Commentary on the future of health information technology and its effects on society and culture, especially with respect to the future of biomedical research informatics.
  3. Future Health IT: Colin Jervis helps healthcare and other parts of the public sector in the UK to gain maximum value from their IT investments. Since computerization makes HIT global, news from other countries becomes as important as local issues.
  4. Healthcare IT News: This publication is a foundation for anyone who works in the health care IT field, and it is just one of a handful of publications produced by the Healthcare IT News franchise. You can stay on top of issues, users and institutions that have adopted new technology through this site.
  5. HIT Transition Weblog: This blog is produced by a company that works exclusively in HIT. The publishers also produce HITSync eMagazine. Expect to hear much about HIPAA, as they are experts in this field.
  6. Life as a Healthcare CIO: Dr. Halamka’s life is steeped in health care IT, as he works in businesses that support 3,000 doctors, 18,000 faculty, and three million patients. Follow his experiences with health care IT infrastructure, applications, policies, management and governance.
  7. Medical Connectivity: Although this blog is the principal marketing vehicle for Medical Connectivity Consulting, readers will find various writers who focus on news and opinion regarding health care, medical device connectivity and related issues rather than on the consulting business.
  8. Neil Versel’s Healthcare IT Blog: Versel is an experienced business journalist who focuses on healthcare information technology, including clinical applications, physician practice management, HIPAA regulations (see HIPAA list below) and more.
  9. The Healthcare IT Guy: Shahid N. Shah, the CEO of Netspective Communications, specializes in health care IT, with an emphasis on e-health, EMRs, data integration, and legacy modernization. While you might think his blog would focus solely on IT, you might be surprised to find site reviews, opinion, and talking points on eHealth issues.
  10. The Health Tech Blog: Kevin Peyton is an IT consultant who provides a variety of Web and multimedia services in a variety of settings, including healthcare. This blog is a focus on the latter interest, and it’s one that would interest professionals and nonprofessionals alike.

HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) became law on April 14, 2003 under the care of the Department of Health and Human Services. HIPAA is a means to simplify health care administration to help make health care delivery more efficient through standardization of electronic transmittal of billing and claims information. This standardization increases confidentiality and security of health data, as HIPAA privacy regulations require that access to patient information be limited to only those authorized, and that only the information necessary for a task be available to them. HIPAA provides for a uniform, basic level of security and privacy throughout the country, except in states where laws are stricter than HIPAA laws (although, HIPAA already calls for severe civil and criminal penalties for non-compliance). As with most new regulations, HIPAA rules are not set in stone; periodically, the Department of Health and Human Services will propose changes or issue updates, clarifications, and explanations. The following blogs and Web sites cover these issues and changes within HIPAA law.

  1. Compliance HIPAA: Compliance Home brings a full and fully readable and understandable version of HIPAA to the Web. Don’t neglect links to other HIPAA references to get the full picture.
  2. EMR and HIPAA: Electronic medical records (EMR) are at the heart of HIPAA, and this blog provides an open forum for EMR- and HIPAA-related information. Issues include software, security, statistics and more.
  3. HIPAA: Impacts and Actions by States: The National Conference of State Legislatures offers a page filled with medical record privacy, security and electronic transactions among states. The focus here is on HIPAA.
  4. HIPAA Advisory Committee:
  5. HIPAA Blog: Jeff Drummond is a member of the Dallas Bar Association and immediate past chairman of the Dallas Bar Association’s Health Law Section. His blog provides talking points, reference material, news and even HIPAA jokes. It’s an easy read, chock-full of relevant HIPAA information.
  6. HIPAA Health Law & Technology: Helen Oscislawski, an attorney, provides a legal perspective to HIPAA through her blog. Although based in New Jersey, Oscislawski offers information and news from across the country on the creation, use and exchange of electronic health records (EHR).
  7. Health Hippo: This link will take you to the Health Hippo HIPAA page, where you can find referrals to many other resources on HIPAA (including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996). You can use this page for referral when you stumble across a puzzling HIPAA reference. This site is sponsored by FindLaw.
  8. HIPAA News: The great source for current information about HIPAA, HIPAA compliance and the latest HIPAA lawsuits.
  9. National Institutes of Health HIPAA: The HIPAA Privacy Rule is the first comprehensive Federal protection for privacy of personal health information. This site provides readers with information on the Privacy Rule for the research community. If you’re not a researcher, don’t despair - the information on this page, including the links, is informative and helpful to any reader concerned about the Privacy Rule.

CCHIT

The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)3 organization with the public mission of accelerating the adoption of “robust, interoperable health information technology.” In just three years since its founding, and less than two years since being awarded a contract by ONC/HHS (Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology/Hospitals and Health Services), CCHIT has successfully developed and launched standards-based certification of electronic health record (EHR) products for both ambulatory and inpatient care settings. But, this additional certification has created disputes between providers, who often must pay high fees to comply with CCHIT, and this organization. More about this issue and other topics in the following blogs, articles and papers…

  1. CCHIT To Certify PHRs: Health Management Rx offers an opinion about how CCHIT might affect the PHR market. We suggest you follow links in and after the article to learn more.
  2. EHR Decisions: Follow this blog for EHR information and news. EHR Decisions is brought to you by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT).
  3. How CCHIT Makes EMR Selection Easy: This article, published by Intellectual Property and Tech Law Reports, does a good job of convincing any reader why CCHIT is good for software selection.
  4. Should CCHIT Influence Your EHR Selection?: Software Advice offers this article, which focuses on businesses that seek software for electronic health record management from vendors. But, it’s an article for the masses, as the author outlines CCHIT specifics and shortfalls in detail.
  5. HIT Certification: CCHIT: You may not want to work toward a certification, but you still might want to visit this link. CCHIT is explained in plain English, and links to other information are voluminous. This is a U.S. Department of Health & Human Services site.

EHR/EMR/PHR Information

The following blogs and Web sites offer more than you probably want to know about electronic health records (EHR), electronic medical records (EMR), personal health records (PHR) and more. Some sites are geared toward professionals, and some speak to the non-professional. But, we feel you can walk away from any given blog, site or article with more information about Web-based health record security, so you can make informed decisions about what you want to do with your health records.

  1. EHR PHR and Patient Portals: Dr. Volpe offers ideas and experiences with Electronic Health Records, Personal Health Records and Patient Portals.
  2. EMR Blog: EHR Scope, a publication that provides extensive information on the EHR/EMR field, publishes the EMR Blog. EHR Scope is a division of EMRConsultant.com, which is part of 1450, Inc., and the blog focuses on implementation of EMR for professionals. However, non-professionals can learn much about how the professional community plans to implement electronic records (using Dragon speech recognition software, for instance).
  3. Electronic Health Record Security: The ICMCC (International Council on Medical & Care Compunetics) workshop focuses on security requirements and solutions for Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems. This site contains links to papers and presentations from the most recent conference. You also can use the links at the top of the page to read their blog and gain access to updated news.
  4. emrupdate: EMR Update is a place where anyone interested in electronic medical records can view the latest new, read blogs and join in discussion on forums. According to the site, they offer “unbiased independent EMR discussion and resources.”
  5. Health Populi: Jane Sarasohn-Kahn is a health economist and management consultant who has worked with health care stakeholders for over twenty years. Her projects, which are reflected in her blog’s focuses, include strategic and business planning, forecasting and health policy analysis. This blog is appropriate for professionals and non-professionals alike.
  6. How to Choose a Personal Health Record: When a money magazine starts writing about personal health records, it may get your attention. SmartMoney published this article in May 2008, and author Lisa Scherzer looks at various companies and the overall pros and cons about how they work. This is a down-to-earth article that reveals the money side of PHR companies.
  7. MAeHC Blog: MAeHC is a Massachusetts-based organization that is building a community-based strategy for ubiquitous adoption of electronic health records and health information exchange. Although this blog is state-focused, it is a well-respected blog that professionals nationwide are watching for progress in their efforts. Well worth reading for the obstacles and milestones that this group faces in their goal to promote higher quality, safety, efficiency, and affordability of health care.
  8. myPHR: The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) is a national non-profit professional association that is dedicated to the effective management of personal health information needed to deliver quality healthcare to the public. This site is a user-friendly site that can help you learn more about PHRs and how they work. They include an essential section on your health information rights.
  9. Patient Centered Health Information Technology (PCHIT): This blog reflects the PCHIT initiative, which is to engage the public in adoption of health information technology (HIT) tools to help the public monitor individual health care. This work is made possible by grants from the California Healthcare Foundation (Oakland, CA), United Hospital Fund (New York, NY), Kaiser Permanente (Oakland, CA), and Group Heath Community Foundation (Seattle, WA), in collaboration with the Center for Information Therapy (Bethesda, MD).
  10. Project HealthDesign: This blog, run by health care IT consultant Lygeia Ricciardi, monitors policy and media happenings that influence the development of consumer-focused IT tools such as personal health records. This blog is intended for anyone who has considered a personal health record option.
  11. Personal Health Record (PHR) Systems: An Evolving Challenge to EHR Systems: This is an article featured in Virtual Medical Worlds online. It defines the difference between PHRs and EHRs and then focuses more on the PHR aspect. While this is a tool to determine how quickly PHRs will be adopted by the general public, it also speaks to the types of records that are used, what needs to be used to make these records work for the patient and doctor. This article leans heavily toward using PHRs.
  12. RPMS Electronic Health Record Website: This is the government’s Indian Health Service’s new Electronic Health Record (EHR). While it focuses on a specific population, this site can guide anyone through what an EHR means, how it works and whether it’s appropriate for you.
  13. The EMR/EHR Show: This blog is all about “getting the most out of your health records software, regardless of its maker or your medical specialty.” Written by a full-time, community based family physician, this blog speaks to health care professionals. But, non-professionals can learn much about how professionals are learning to handle patient records from the information contained on this site.
  14. The Personal Health Records Page: Learn more about PHRs from the World Privacy Forum. They provide basic information and plenty of links to follow to learn more.

Patient Safety, Privacy and Empowerment

Some of the basic points that a patient might remember when dealing with electronic health records include: CPOE (Computerized Physician Order Entry), or whether the doctor enters patient information into a computer program correctly; ICU physician staffing (IPS), and the concern whether intensive care units are staffed by trained ICU specialists; EBHR (Evidence-Based Hospital Referral), or how well hospitals perform high-risk procedures and neonatal conditions; and, Safe Practice Scores (SPS), a Leapfrog (see below) guidelines that ask how well hospitals are progressing on nationally endorsed safe practices. The following list can address these issues and more…

  1. Focus: This site is supported by HVA (Hospital Video Auditing), a 24/7 auditing technology that improves compliance with patient safety and hand washing practices and protocols. While HVA introduces an ongoing system of video-based assessments and reports that are generated daily, weekly and monthly, they also are developing guidelines that help the medical practice perform within patient safety parameters.
  2. Medical Records Privacy: The Center for Democracy and Technology offers this article on privacy for your medical records. They include links to Clinton health care regulations, CDT policy posts and more.
  3. National Institute for Patient Rights: The National Institute for Patient Rights was founded with the sole purpose of helping patients and their advocates protect and promote their rights. The site contains a ton of information about patient advocacy, and the newsletter offers tips such as how patients and their advocates can create their own informal network of embedded laypersons right within the hospital, free of charge. They also sponsor a blog, where you can learn more on an updated basis.
  4. Neil Calman MD: Dr. Calman, a family physician and President/CEO of the Institute for Family Health in New York, writes a blog dedicated to the fight for “social justice, logic, efficiency, quality and compassion in the way health services are delivered, paid for and regulated.” His blog is personal and an interesting read.
  5. Patient Privacy Rights: Patient Privacy Rights is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2004 by Dr. Deborah Peel. This site is dedicated to ensuring Americans control to all personal health records. This site is geared toward consumers.
  6. Patient Safety Blog: Patrick Malone & Associates publishes this blog, which focuses solely on patient safety. Topics range from accessibility of healthcare to vaccinations, with a good dose of medical record information on board.
  7. PPECA: Partnering for Patient Empowerment through Community Awareness is a collaboration among patient safety advocates, health sciences librarians, health care institutions, and public libraries. The goal is to improve communication among key players regarding patient safety, and to improve consumer awareness about patient safety and health care resources so that patients can feel empowered to accept an active role in health care.
  8. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: This link will take you directly to the page that focuses solely on medical records privacy.
  9. Scientific American: The September 2008 issue focuses solely on online security, including articles about how to protect your genetic privacy, RFID dangers and more. This is a must-read issue for anyone who wants to learn more about where the state of Internet security stands today.
  10. The Leapfrog Group: This group aims to reduce preventable medical mistakes and improve the quality and affordability of health care. They also intend to encourage health providers to publicly report their quality and outcomes so that consumers and purchasing organizations can make informed health care choices from viewing this transparency. This is a voluntary program that addresses professionals and consumers alike.

Health Care Law and Policy Blogs

While these blogs don’t focus specifically on health record security, they focus on health law in general and how it affects what you do with those records and how sharing records online might affect you. Health care law and policy is created both at the national and at the local level. The blogs listed below focus on national issues, including HIPAA, medical law abuse, upcoming legislations, security and privacy issues and more. If you want local policies, search for health care law blogs that focus on your state.

  1. David Harlow’s Health Care Law Blawg (HealthBlawg): Harlow is a health care lawyer and consultant who has over twenty years of public and private sector experience. He focuses on legal, policy and business issues that face the health care community. While the blog appeals to health care providers, vendors and payors, ordinary readers can realize that what affects health care providers also affects patients.
  2. Health Affairs Blog: Health Affairs has been in print for twenty-five years and in online publishing for six, so a natural extension of their health policy debates would be to blog about them. The journal is “all about an ongoing dialogue on health policy issues of concern to a diverse audience of interested readers.”
  3. Health Care Fraud Blog: Robert David Malove, a board-certified criminal trial lawyer, offers a blog that any court-TV lover would love. Fraud, scandal and sentences on health care issues fill the pages in this site, and Malove offers insight into the legislation changes and loopholes that any patient or health care provider might encounter.
  4. Health Care Law Blog: Bob Coffield, a health care lawyer, keeps an eye on health care law with thoughts and comments on the health care industry, privacy, security, technology and “other odds and ends.” His banter is relaxing, and his talking points are relevant to health care providers as well as to patients.
  5. Health Law Blog: Tom Mayo, a law professor, tackles all issues that affect anyone who is interested in health and health care. Topics include HIPAA abuses, Medicaid/Medicare and global health issues.
  6. Health Policy and Communications Blog: Dr. Miller has twelve years in health policy positions in Washington, DC. under his belt, and he shares his expertise as a consultant through his blog. His goal is to foster discussion and analysis about how health policy and communications issues affect clinical and economic outcomes. Providers and patients might be interested in this blog, as “economics” means your pocket, not the pocket of some stranger.
  7. Health Policy Watch: The Century Foundation provides this blog, which seeks to provide experts and non-experts alike with a portal on developing debates on health policy and on ideas for achieving universal coverage. A focus is on the transformation of U.S. health care financing and delivery.
  8. Health Wonk Review: Readers at this blog will find a biweekly compendium of the “best of the health policy blogs.” More than two dozen health policy, infrastructure, insurance, technology, and managed care bloggers participate by contributing their best recent blog postings to a roving digest, with each issue hosted at a different participant’s blog. For participants, it’s a way to network and share ideas, and for those readers who don’t live in this space every day, it’s a way to sample some of the latest thinking and the “best of the best.”
  9. HealthLawProf Blog: Elizabeth Malloy, attorney, brings her insights to the Law Professor Blogs Network. This blog focuses on AIDS, women’s issues, cancer and more. The blog is a great read for anyone curious as to the general overall legal atmosphere in any given field.
  10. Nash on Health Policy: Dr. David Nash is The Dr. Raymond C. and Doris N. Grandon Professor and Chairman of the Department of Health Policy at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, one of a handful of medical schools in the nation with an endowed professorship in health policy. Although Nash, appropriately, focuses on issues at Jefferson, many blog posts bring an insight into patient safety, EHRs, EMRs and other topics.
  11. Privacy and Security Law Blog: Davis Wright Tremaine, a national law firm, brings a blog that would interest anyone who is concerned about Internet safety and privacy. Topics include blogging, biometrics, legislation at the local and national level, HIPAA, Internet, identity theft, medical records, personal privacy and more. They also host the Technology, eBusiness & Digital Media Law Blog, a site that focuses on many of the same topics, but from more from an Internet user perspective.
  12. Wall Street Journal Health Blog: WSJ offers some of the most interesting writing on health care issues, focusing on policy, law, abuse, political influence and more. If you want to stay on top of the most pressing and relevant national issues, this is where you can start reading.

Specialty Health Law

The blogs listed above consist of general health law and policy blogs. The blogs listed below focus on specific diseases and life situations. These laws and policy issues are different, as they are more focused on a specific population. While not all specialty law and policy blogs focus on eHealth issues or health record security, the trend is changing. The following blogs contain information about sharing information with patients, as well as updates on laws and policies that affect certain diseases, disabilities and health fields. If you want to learn more about specialized health law at the local level, use your search engine to find what you need at the state level.

  1. CAMLaw: This is a Complementary and Alternative Medicine law blog, with a focus on how legislation affects such as chiropractic treatments, Reiki, herbal medicines and more. Michael H. Cohen, Esq., an attorney with a background in alternative and complementary healing, has been rendering legal advice in the area of holistic health, complementary and alternative medicine, and general business to a wide variety of clients since 1999.
  2. Egg Donor and Surrogacy Law Blog: Theresa M. Erickson is one of the few attorneys in the United States who practices exclusively in the area of Family Formation Law. She has donated eggs to several families, and her sister was unable to maintain a successful pregnancy to term. It is through both of these personal experiences that Erickson’s passion developed to become an Embryo Donation Attorney and to inform readers about their rights through her blog.
  3. ElderLawAnswers Blog: Harry Margolis practices elder law with Margolis & Associates in Boston, edits The ElderLawReport and is President of ElderLawAnswers. It’s at the latter site where you can ask and/or find answers to questions about laws that affect the elderly, including health record security.
  4. FDA Law Blog: Jeffrey N. Wasserstein and Kurt R. Karst from Hyman, Phelps and McNamara discuss all points about FDA regulations, guidelines and laws that concern every topic from cosmetics to reimbursement.
  5. Hearing Loss Law: John F. Waldo, an attorney who has a significant hearing loss, publishes this blog, which focuses on legal needs of hard-of-hearing and deaf individuals. He works on access and advocacy issues through the Washington Communication Access Project (Wash-CAP), and represents individuals on issues involving job discrimination, workers’ compensation, education and private insurance matters and reports on news and issues.
  6. Medicare Update: Michael Apolskis, attorney, focuses on Medicare compliance, reimbursement and enforcement matters. While his audience is health care providers, suppliers and companies, any reader can stay abreast of Medicare legislation changes through Apolskis’ updates.
  7. Neuroethics & Law Blog: Professor Adam Kolber has created an interdisciplinary forum for legal and ethical issues related to the mind and brain. This blog is meant to be of interest to bioethicists, legal academics, lawyers, neuroscientists, neurologists, cognitive scientists, psychologists, psychiatrists, philosophers, criminologists and behavioral economists; however, it is of great interest to those who face health issues in this arena as well.
  8. Nursing Home Law: David Cohen and Brian Murphy are involved with the Personal Injury group of Stark & Stark, a law firm that specializes in nursing home litigation, including negligence and abuse claims, accidents and personal injury.
  9. Nutritional and Dietary Supplement Law Blog: If you have issues or problems with dietary supplements, nutraceuticals, functional foods and the law, then you might be interested in this blog. You can learn more about state laws, FDA news, warnings and more through this site’s commentary and links.
  10. Pharma Law Blog: Dr. Peter Rost, a former Pfizer Marketing Vice President providing services as an expert witness, speaker and writer, is the drug industry’s whistle blower. According to Fortune, Dr. Rost “has become the drug industry’s most annoying - and effective - online scourge.” His blog focuses on pharmacy deficits, and this blog’s reader will be met with education as well as entertainment.

eHealth

eHealth was the first bastion to bringing health issues to the Web, and it continues to grow. The PHR, EHR and EMR are a direct outgrowth of this movement. The following blogs, sites and articles will help readers understand more about the eHealth movement, and they also address security and privacy issues.

  1. e-Health Tech: This site’s focus is in “the intersection of medical informatics, public health and business, referring to health services and information delivered or enhanced through the Internet and related technologies.” The process is through educating patient, caregivers, administrators, and developers about the value of e-Health. Expect advocacy for online interaction and patient involvement.
  2. e-Patients: This site’s tag line is, “because health professionals can’t do it alone.” This site is staffed by health professionals, patients and former patients, and their focus is on enabling individuals with the power to engage in their health and health care decisions. Many topics, including links to articles outside this blog, deal with patient safety, health record management, and engaging the patient in taking responsibility for all health aspects.
  3. Hans Oh’s eHealth Blog: Hans Oh currently is completing his PhD studies in health policy, management, and evaluation. His blog is a way of distributing eHealth information to health care professionals and to “regular people.”
  4. eHealth: John Sharp runs this blog. He is an IT Manager for a major medical center, and his areas of expertise include: eHealth, personal health records, Web 2.0 technologies, Windows Sharepoint Services and project management.
  5. eHealth Initiative: This site is produced by a non-profit organization that seeks to drive improvement in the quality, safety, and efficiency of healthcare through information and information technology. The target reader is the professional health care worker and health care institutional staff, but they also want to engage the public sector to help define and implement actions that would address the quality, safety and efficiency challenges in the healthcare system and its IT process.
  6. eHealth News EU: This is the European Union’s take on eHealth, including policies, education, security and privacy, and more. This is a great site to get perspective on progress on eHealth issues in other countries, as links to projects, news and other resources are abundant.
  7. eHealthRisk: The eHealthRisk blog provides a forum for individuals to examine privacy, security, safety, project and business risks associated with the application of information and telecommunications technologies to health care.
  8. Open eHealth Foundation: This is an open source non-profit initiative, developed in 2008, for the efficient exchange of medical information based on existing standards. The foundation’s objective is to develop software components and reference implementations as free Open Source software that can help achieve a high level of semantic interoperability in the eHealth field. While it serves as a platform for projects at the professional level, anyone can become involved with how the development of this software could possibly meet stringent privacy and security standards.
  9. Ted Eytan, MD: Dr. Eytan is a family physician with “an interest in patient empowerment and patient-centered health information technology.” He’s located in Washington, DC, the center of patient-centered health care policy issues and IT development, and his blog reflects his involvement with these processes.
  10. The Health Care Blog: This is one of the most popular health care blogs in existence among both professionals and non-professionals. Their tag line, “Everything you wanted to know about the health care system. But were afraid to ask.” is key to realizing that this blog is about the issues that affect the consumer. Expect topics on eHealth, Health 2.0, security and privacy and other information that can inform the public about ongoing health issues.
  11. What Patients Really Want: An Introduction to the ePatient: This article states that, “About two thirds of Americans have sought health information online …and half changed their behavior as a result of their online activities.” The reader then will learn the points that argue why this trend is taking place. This article lays the groundwork for the next topic…Health 2.0.

Health 2.0

You might say that health 2.0 is a flashy cousin to eHealth. Health 2.0 doesn’t replace eHealth, but it reaches out more to the reader with interaction. In fact, many times the reader is the instigator to user-generated content. Look for innovations in search to healthcare-focused social networks and consumer sites as well as trends in wellness and personalized medicine. Online health records would be included in this arena. And, through the following articles, look to the pros and cons concerning security issues on sharing health information online.

  1. A Health 2.0 Overview, Through the Eyes of a New Diabetic: Richard McManus, the founder, editor and CEO of ReadWriteWeb, discovers he has diabetes and chronicles his efforts to learn more about this disease through online information. This is a prime example of a consumer who becomes interactive with online health care venues.
  2. Defining Health 2.0: This article defines Health 2.0, but the author alos provides readers with examples of sites taht offer consumers the chance to learn more about a handful of Web-based health care platforms.
  3. Health 2.0: A wiki is a site where users can alter, add, and delete text to make the content as relevant as possible. This is the hope, at least. This particular wiki “has been set up as a service to the community of visionaries, entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, policy makers, and professionals who are working on fundamentally redefining the healthcare industry along the lines of “Web 2.0″.” This redefinition includes dealing with security and privacy issues.
  4. Health 2.0 article: This article, published by the Economist, defines Health 2.0 and treats readers to a balance of what is positive and negative about patient involvement in their health care management.
  5. Health 2.0 and Medicine 2.0: Tensions and Controversies in the Field: Benjamin Hughes, MSc, MBA, provides a scholarly paper that aims to establish a clear definition for Medicine 2.0 and “delineate literature that is specific to the field.” Hughes proceeds to propose a framework for categorizing existing literature (56 papers at the time) and identifying key research themes, underdeveloped research areas and underlying tensions or controversies among those who participate in this field. One major conclusion is that “research currently lags behind practice in understanding the implications of Medicine 2.0.”
  6. “Health 2.0″ vs. Health Insurers: The Looming Clash: David Hamilton writes, “The fact is that more widespread use and dissemination of patient data is a double-edged sword, one that seems likely to benefit patients in some ways while disadvantaging them in others.” Read this article to learn more about that sword.
  7. Highlight Health 2.0: The focus of Highlight HEALTH 2.0 is to follow the use of web 2.0 in health and medicine. The blog is a collaborative effort and guest writers are welcome. This is your chance to become involved.
  8. How to deal with the digitally empowered patient: Dr. Scott Haig moderates a panel of orthopedic surgeons to discuss how patient empowerment is changing their current practice and what they see as their future. This discussion provides valuable insights for the consumer.
  9. The Health 2.0 glut, and how one startup adapts: If you can understand, through the information posted above, how consumers and corporations have jumped on the Web to stimulate sharing health information, then this article might interest you. Although this article focuses on just one of many online consumer-focused health care startups, the information provided can provide clues as to the intricacies involved in covering consumer security and privacy.
]]> http://onlinenursingdegreeguide.org/2008/the-ultimate-medical-privacy-guide/feed/ 100 Awesome Self Improvement Blogs: Improve Your Physical and Mental Health, Achieve Your Goals http://onlinenursingdegreeguide.org/2008/100-awesome-self-improvement-blogs-improve-your-physical-and-mental-health-achieve-your-goals/ http://onlinenursingdegreeguide.org/2008/100-awesome-self-improvement-blogs-improve-your-physical-and-mental-health-achieve-your-goals/#comments Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:26:25 +0000 admin http://onlinenursingdegreeguide.org/?p=195 When you think about self improvement, do you think about becoming more fit? Or, do you think about expanding your universe with education or spiritual tools or through creative endeavors? Are you working through a disability or illness, and do you seek support from others? All these topics and more are covered below, in our list of 100 blogs that appeal to the individual’s desire for self improvement.

The blogs, although numbered and listed in alphabetical order under each heading, are not listed by preference or by value.

Achieve Your Goals | Boomers | Brain Power | Creative Therapy | Financial Freedom | Integrated Health | Physical, Emotional and Mental Health | Physical Fitness | Spiritual Growth | Women

Achieve Your Goals

When we searched for blogs that focused on achieving goals, we learned that a majority of those blogs focused on making money. But, the blogs listed below also focus on the necessity of improving mental, emotional and physical health to achieve this wealth pattern. Furthermore, they all focus on self-improvement and self-help as part of this process.

  1. Brian Kim: The purpose of this blog is to provide readers with free articles on self improvement that focus on mental to physical health, financial health and other tips. The philosophy is to invest in yourself, “your greatest asset.”
  2. Dream Manifesto: This link will lead you to the list of articles on this site, sorted by date. All articles focus on the creation process, or, “how you manifest reality in your life (make your dreams come true).” Readers also can find videos, products and other resources that may help you to manifest your dreams.
  3. Inspire Possibility: Mark made the transition from being a trial lawyer to becoming a life coach with a focus on executive coaching and leadership development. His blog offers nuggets of wisdom that can help readers understand his approach to personal development.
  4. Just Ask Sledge: Graham Bowall, also known as “Sledge,” is an entrepreneur who attributes his online success with a personal development program called, “Your Self Miracle.” You can download the first installment of this program free at Graham’s blog, and you can enjoy his inspiring blog entries for free as well.
  5. Mindware Forum: This is a colorful, interesting and informative blog that challenges brain power, but that also encourages readers to reach goals. You’ll find the latest news and information on software for self-improvement, personal development, self-help and professional success here as well.
  6. Pick the Brain: This Web site is focused on overall self-improvement, with tabs that lead you to motivation, productivity, psychology, money, health, education and more.
  7. Sean Rasmussen: If you need motivation to become wealthy and an ability to communicate successfully, perhaps this blog is for you. According to HotScams, Rasmussen is a “wealth creator, stock market investor, Internet marketer, property collector and a success communicator. He enjoys helping other people the ways to financial wealth and makes many of these resources readily available on his many websites.”
  8. Shar’s Empowerment Blog: Sharmen Lane has personally gone from being a manicurist to millionaire when she used all the principles described in her books. She’s now an author, speaker, radio host, and life coach with a specialization in corporate leadership, sales and self improvement. Her blog focuses on a change in mental health and approaches to life’s problems.
  9. Steve Pavlina: In 1991, Steve Pavlina sat in jail with a charge for felony grand theft. He was expelled from school, and he was 19 years old. From there, Pavlina overcame his daily kleptomania addiction, graduated in three semesters with a double major in computer science and mathematics, and ran the LA marathon and trained in martial arts. He became a vegan, gave up television, and began to show others how to reach their goals. Curious? Learn more through his site and blog.
  10. The Success Triangle: Dr. Joe Capista has dedicated himself to the study of the power and impact of the mind and spirit in creating your reality. Putting into practice these teachings, Dr. Capista has built a multi-million dollar dental practice located in Broomall, Pennsylvania. You can tap into some of his wisdom through his blog.

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Boomers

Boomers are everywhere and, while this phenomenon has a limited lifespan, they have taken over the blogosphere. We could list hundreds of boomer self-improvement blogs here, but we limited our selection to a wide variety of blogs that approach topics that range from aging to psychological self-help issues.

  1. A Baby Boomer Woman’s Life After 50: Judi’s philosophy is to “age gracefully, be optimistic about the future, and keep my chin up…so my neck stays forever wrinkle-free.” This blogger tackles every topic known to female boomerkind as she shares her personal experiences.
  2. Age Notes: Robert Knechtel is an experienced blogger on aging, as he began his ‘career’ with the Go60.com site years ago. The Go60 site advocates the elimination of aging stereotypes, and Age Notes, which Robert started in 2007, is dedicated to discussion of all things related to the aging process.
  3. Beyond 50 Radio Blog: Daniel Davis was a radio host for almost a decade, and now he brings Beyond 50 Radio talk show to America’s baby boomers. No topic is too large or small for discussion, including psychological, emotional and physical health issues approached through interviews, book reviews and more. This blog is part of the larger site, “Beyond 50 Radio.”
  4. Blogging for Boomers: Ray and Rosie Horner impart their expertise on blogging to readers over age 45. They believe that blogging is “keeping us young,” and they want you to learn this skill to help you impart your interests, hobbies and expertise to the world. The side benefit: blogging will make you seem ‘cool’ to your grandchildren.
  5. Boomer World: Sometimes the best path to self improvement is to understand that others feel the same way — especially if those “others” have a sense of humor. No topic is off-limits to Carine and Beverly, two boomers who tackle everything from credit card companies that bill you after death to sex when you’re still alive and kicking.
  6. Feisty Side of Fifty: Mary Eileen Williams, M.A., N.C.C. has over fifteen years combined experience as a career/life transition counselor, workshop facilitator, university instructor, and writer. Her focus is women over fifty, and her blog deals with numerous issues that thousands of women over fifty face with life planning and career transitions.
  7. From the Desk of the Head Boomer: Ann Fry, MSW, PCC is the “head boomer, ReInvetion Expert, Results-Getter” woman over fifty who focuses on boomers at work, play and philanthropic endeavors. Her blog includes thought-provoking entries “about all things boomer.” This blog is tied to Ann’s Web site, It’s Boomer Time.
  8. Further! Boomer News and Views: Kano is a “Husband, Dad, Grandpa, Lover of Peace, Conservationist, Radical Rebel Rouser, Motorcyclist and Writer.” And, with a photo of a painted hippie bus on the home page, you know that his news and views arrive from a non-conformist perspective. Although this blog is new (2008), Kano maintains several other online presences with blogs that focus on his other interests. So, you can feel confident that when you click on this link you’re headed into a world occupied by a professional blogger.
  9. Libido and Health: Tonie Konig, a South African boomer, has studied natural cures for over a decade. He believes you’re a fool if you believe your doctor. Instead, he wants you to take responsibility for your health and to become knowledgeable on all the alternatives available, and then decide on the best course. To this end, his blog focuses on natural cures for many illnesses and conditions.
  10. Platinum Pearls: Tom Hays singlehandedly created this blog network dedicated to mid-life boomers. You can enjoy photos, video and a forum here along with blog entries that “address the spiritual, emotional and creative dimensions as well as the medical, financial and lifestyle aspects of midlife baby boomers.”

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Brain Power

Whether or not you believe that games may improve brain power and motor skills, you still might agree that it’s fun to take time out for these simple pleasures. The following sites offer games and cognitive thinking information that leans toward the belief that these “tools” are helpful to anyone who wants to stretch his or her brain power.

  1. AARP Games: The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) is notorious for championing the rights of anyone over age 50 in America. Their games section is in beta, but it’s widely popular among members and nonmembers alike. The games can sharpen your brain power as well as motor skills.
  2. Brain Aerobics: Wiser Now, Inc. CEO Kathy Laurenhue began to write about Alzheimer’s disease in the early 1990s and has always been known for her highly practical and invariably upbeat style. To her, “If you’re skating on thin ice, you might as well dance.” This blog, geared toward building self-esteem, nurturing strengths and having fun.
  3. Happy Neuron: Happy Neuron brings you Brain Fitness through entertaining games that are fun and scientifically developed to challenge your brain and keep it in top gear at all times. Membership benefits are not free, but the blog and some of the games are absolutely free to peruse and use.
  4. Luminosity: Improve your most basic cognitive abilities at any age and keep your brain performing at its best with Lumosity, a brain training program consisting of engaging brain games and exercises developed by some of the leading neuroscientists in the country. The blog is curated, edited, and run by Lumos Labs Co Founder Michael Scanlon.
  5. Mind Hacks: Mind Hacks is a book by Tom Stafford and Matt Webb. The book is a collection of probes into the moment-by-moment workings of our brain with a view to understanding ourselves a little better and learning a little more, in a very real sense, about what makes us tick. The blog is more of the same, all written in an intelligent, witty and eye-opening style that will hack your ideas about everything from why you itch to why magnetic underwear exists.
  6. Mind Tweaks: the anonymous author of this blog is not a counselor, psychiatrist, therapist, psychologist, certified creativity coach or neurosurgeon. “My sole qualification for developing MindTweaks is that I have a brain that seems to need constant tweaking, and I’m not afraid to hack into it.” Join the author in his/her quest to learn more about brains in general and yours in particular.
  7. SharpBrains: SharpBrains is a research & advisory firm devoted to helping individuals, companies, health providers, investors, and policy makers understand and participate in the emerging brain fitness field through a variety of market-intelligence products and services. Their blog is set up so that you can learn as much as you want about brain fitness, find a program to increase your brain power and learn more about SharpBrain seminars.
  8. Smartkit: Unlike typical puzzle books and websites, you won’t find any easy, immediate answers to the brain game challenges at Smartkit. After a new puzzle is posted, they wait 24-48 hours to post answers. This delay encourages visitors to really exercise their minds, as opposed to quickly giving in to temptation and turning to the solution page. The Smartkit site was founded by a fellowship-trained, Board Certified Neurologist (M.D.) who is also a member of the American Academy of Neurology. Every once in a while, he’ll add an educational post about brain health and enhancement.

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Creative Therapy

Creative therapy addresses social, emotional and cognitive needs. It often is used as active therapy for individuals who suffer from various diseases or disorders as well as serving as a catalyst for stagnating businesses. The following creative therapy blogs contain information and inspiration from the arts to crafts to writing and creative thinking. Each link also carries information about other resources that you can tap to expand your “inner creative.”

  1. A Creative Journal: Heather Goldsmith has been writing ever since her two teenagers were babies. She blogged before blogging became popular, so her skills as a journalist are solid. In this blog, Heather talks about her journaling experiences, leading others to write their potential as well.
  2. Collage Contessa: Collage is a wonderful expression for creativity, and ‘Contessa Kris’ shows her readers how to create collages. Even more, she shares her inspiration and her thoughts as a creative therapy designer. Kris also shares a long list of other artists in links, so you could spend hours exploring from this site.
  3. Creative Generalist: Creative Generalist is an “outpost for curious divergent thinkers who appreciate new ideas from a wide mix of sources.” This is a great site to learn about the creative world, especially to how it pertains to the real world through business and idea generation. At the same time, individuals can gather inspiration and learn more about how other creatives think. Readers will find a long list of other creative resources linked here as well.
  4. Creative Therapy: After experiencing a personal epiphany through old photographs, this blog’s author decided to help others realize their potential through weekly catalysts, or challenges to the spirit, defined by “art, scrapbooking, photography, or whatever your creative outlet is as a form of self-therapy.” Just browsing through the artwork posted on this site is uplifting.
  5. Creative Think: Probably best known as the author of A Whack on the Side of the Head and the Creative Whack Pack, and, most recently, as the creator of the Ball of Whacks, Roger von Oech brings a blog to the creative process. Although the purpose of this work is to stimulate creativity in business, the ideas that Roger shares here can stimulate creativity for anyone.
  6. Creativity Central: This blog provides a place for writers and readers to share, piggyback and contribute ideas on any topic. Their mantra is, “What if? What Else? Why Not?” Topics range from the process of thinking to lighter moods on how to change traditional holiday ideas. This blog is an offshoot of the Creativity Central site.
  7. [i] love life: An artist before she could read, Kal Barteski spent the better part of her hours drawing, sketching, painting and observing the world around her. Although it “feels weird” for her to blog, today Kal shares her work, her inspirations and her writing with readers. Her work is an inspiration to her real-life community and to her virtual fans.
  8. Innovative and Creative Therapy: What better way to learn how creative therapy works than through a blog written by a group that recruits therapists? RehabCare serves 1,200 hospitals, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities throughout the United States, and their thoughts on rehabilitative therapy include challenges and ideas that can get anyone’s creative juices flowing.
  9. TED Blog: This stimulating thought blog is brought to you by TED, Ideas Worth Spreading. The blog introduces new ideas, and the site expands on those inspirations with themes, talks and seminars. Meet some of the greatest minds here and expand your creative world!
  10. Wishful Thinking: Mark McGuinness, this blog’s author, is a poet and business coach who specializes in the creative industries and with professional artists and creatives. Although Mark focuses on business, the blog focuses on how to help creative individuals manage time and life.

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Financial Freedom

If you seek to improve your financial status, these blogs can help you to reach your goals.

  1. DoshDosh: If you want to make more money but you want to avoid the traffic jam outside your door, then this site will help you learn how to make extra cash online. You’ll learn more about Internet marketing and blogging tips, alongside social media strategies. “Best consumed by bloggers, entrepreneurs, web publishers, marketers, freelancers and small business owners.” You can double your online financial self improvement with Making Money Shed, a site that provides guidelines for making money on the Web.
  2. Get Rich Slowly: This is one of the most popular money-making and money-saving blog sites around, and it was recently named the ‘most inspiring money blog’ by Money magazine. Devoted to sensible personal finance, readers learn how to manage money through stories about debt elimination, saving money and practical investing. An “average guy” writes this blog, and his inspiration is based upon his research, which revealed that “few people get rich quickly, but almost anyone can get rich slowly.”
  3. I will Teach You to be Rich: Speaking of popular blogs, this site, which is authored by Ramit Sethi, has appealed to many, many inner millionaires. Ramit blogs on productivity, entrepreneurship, personal finance and more.
  4. It’s Just Money: The anonymous author of this site has “personally made almost every major money mistake out there. I ran up credit card debt, car loan, student loan, trashed my credit, then worked my way back to paying it all off, and rebuilding the credit. Since then, I have saved well, but don’t yet own a home.” However, he has worked for financial institutions since graduating from high school, and he’s worked with clients who are worth many, many millions, and others who think that they should start saving for retirement, now that they are in their 50s. He brings his personal and work experiences to this blog to help others dig themselves out of debt and into the black.
  5. Smart Money Daily: This author is another “average” guy who writes about personal and business finance. His inspiration came from the book, Rich Dad, which he purchased at a yard sale for a mere dollar. You can find all sorts of tips here on how to save money and pay off debts.
  6. Time to Budget: Mona Weathers blogs about her reach for financial freedom through ideas about how to increase income, budget lessons and debt reduction encouragement. She offers tons of resources and tools to help you along the way as well.
  7. WiseBread: If you want to live large on a small budget, this site is for you. Wise Bread touches on every topic known to mankind, along with tips on how to tackle that topic with less money in your pocket and more money in your savings.

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Integrated Health

The word, “integrated,” when applied to health, means to combine all functions into one unit or holistic environment. In other words, mental health can affect physical health, and Eastern and Western medicine can work together to help individuals to heal. We searched for blogs that might combine mental and emotional health with physical well-being, and we came up with blogs that focus on happiness, Zen, all-around self-improvement and simplicity. Enjoy!

  1. Everyone Needs Therapy: Even if you don’t want to admit it, a peek inside a blog that addresses emotional issues and how they might affect your physical well-being and your environment (or vice-versa) might pique your curiosity, right? This blog is written by a PhD social work doctor who offers her best take on mental health and relationships.
  2. Health Communication Research: Although Michael Mackert, Ph.D. focuses primarily on the strategies that can be used in traditional and new digital media to provide health education to low health literate audiences, readers to this blog can mine resources for intelligent options in ‘telemedicine’ and eHealth.
  3. Helfgott Blog: Exploring Health and Medicine: Look to this blog to develop a range of basic health tools from diet to exercise and from mental to emotional health issues. Plus, you can learn how to navigate this country’s current health care system without much monetary expenditure. That advice alone is a stress-reducer!
  4. Postcards from the Funny Farm: Damien Riley, a, offers up daily posts on psychology, inspiration and blogging with an eye to pop culture, the news, and humor all around us. His posts will provide you with a lift, as well as with some blogging tools so you can venture out on the Web yourself.
  5. Selfvolution: This site focuses on self-improvement tips that users can receive via email. The topics range from financial smarts to ways to improve your memory and physical health.
  6. The Better Health Campaign: You might recognize Alison Rose Levy as a much-published writer with over two decades’ worth of experience writing about integrative health, lifestyle, yoga, psychology and spiritual transformations for major media. Now, in this niche at Huffington Post, Alison is focusing on a project where the average reader can become empowered on health issues. Learn how to expand your health care options and to assure your health freedoms through this blog.
  7. The Happiness Project: Gretchen Rubin began her career as a lawyer and a clerk for Justice Sandra Day O’Conner on the U.S. Supreme Court. Now, this woman, who is “left-handed, terrible at sports, tone-deaf, a constant hair-twister, and afraid to drive,” is on a mission to write a book about happiness, a memoir about the year she spent “test-driving every principle, tip, theory, and scientific study I could find, whether from Aristotle or St. Therese or Martin Seligman or Oprah.” Her blog reflects her work on this project, and it may help you find your own resources for happiness as well.
  8. The Integrative Health Letter: Dr. Rosenberg is an American born and trained chiropractor who lives and practices chiropractic neurology and integrative medicine in Israel. The Integrative Health Letter is written to provide people with the information they need to make educated decisions in their health care.
  9. Think Simple Now: This blog focuses on finding clarity, simplicity, creativity and personal happiness. We give you simple steps towards positive change. All steps have been personally practiced. The author is Tina, a person who is “extremely passionate about personal development and spiritual growth. I have spent the past four years deeply focused on studying the topics of success, happiness, motivation and financial freedom.”
  10. Zen Habits: This blog covers achieving goals, productivity, being organized, GTD, motivation, eliminating debt, saving, getting a flat stomach, eating healthy, simplifying, living frugal, parenting, happiness, and successfully implementing good habits. Phew! It’s written by Leo Babauta, a resident of Guam who has six children and who is a writer, runner and obsessed with Zen habits.

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Physical, Emotional and Mental Health

The following blogs address a number of physical, emotional and mental issues, and many of these blogs are part of networks that offer bloggers and their readers support through additional services. Although we cannot address every health issue, these blogs can provide a stepping-off point to help you realize the variety of self-help and support that is available to individuals and families today.

  1. A Deaf Mom Shares Her World: Karen is a deaf mom who has three deaf and hard-of-hearing children. Oh yes, and “the hubby is deaf, too.” She began her freelance writing career about one year ago, and she’s quickly become the voice for deaf parents, women and individuals globally.
  2. Adult ADD Strengths: A Blog about adults with “Attention Surplus Condition (aka ADHD)” by adult ADD Coach Pete Quily.
  3. Alternative Medicines: If you ever wanted to learn more about alternative medicines, this site is a good starting point. It’s categorized, easy to understand, and — although biased toward the use of alternative medicines over Western medicine — the information is fairly straightforward. This blog can help you make choices that you may not have thought about before.
  4. American Sexuality: Voices of American Sexuality represents a bold leap for both American Sexuality magazine and the National Sexuality Resource Center. They have worked to build sexuality dialogues around the country and around the world, and now (some would say finally) we’ve moved in to the 21st century. They hope their work will enhance “your experience of sexual literacy, sexual well being and sexual health.”
  5. Anxiety Buster Bonbons: Oza Meilleur has seen “the worst of times,” and she shares her tips and tricks on how to deal with anxiety. If you become curious about Oza, you can follow the link to her Web site (which is in English as well as in French) to learn more about this brave woman who is willing to share her life with others who feel more than a little bit stressed out.
  6. Autism Hub: The Autism Hub is a central point to find blogs about autism from autistic people, parents and professionals. Each blog chosen reflects the Autism Hub’s guiding principles that include empowerment and advocacy, acceptance and a positive outlook.
  7. Blind Chance: David Faucheux’s Audio Web Log: David is a TeleRead volunteer who is fond of Gary Jennings’ novels, Jeopardy, good Thai cuisine and accessible Web sites. He holds an MLIS from Louisiana State University, and he blogs about online accessibility issues, daily life, and inspiration for other blind readers.
  8. Blog for a Cure: Jill, a breast cancer survivor, created this site in 2005 for other cancer survivors. Cancer patients and survivors can create a free personal blog and interact with other bloggers at this site, knowing that all concerned have experienced this disease first-hand.
  9. Breathing Easy: This blog is authored by a woman who is work-at-home mom, a freelance graphic designer, technical illustrator and painter-turned-potter and who suffers from IC (Insterstitial Cystitis), a painful bladder disease. Her blog focuses on art, health and spirituality and it can provide inspiration for anyone who seeks integrated health.
  10. Diabetes Mine: Amy Tenderich, a journalism major, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in May 2003. She started this blog as a “place to sort out and share some ‘diabetes smarts’” so other diabetics will have a foundation to work from. Diabetics will find personal stories, resources and nuggets of information scattered throughout this site.
  11. Disaboom: Disaboom.com was founded by Dr. J. Glen House, a physician who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation who is also a quadriplegic. His firsthand knowledge of the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities and those whose lives they touch has driven the Disaboom.com mission: “to create the first comprehensive, evolving source of information, insight, and personal engagement for the disability community.” Readers can find blogs written by individuals who are disabled, injured or sick and who have overcome many obstacles to share their experiences. But, site users also include medical practitioners, caregivers, employers, family members, teachers, and others.
  12. DOCintheBiz: Dr. KC has been in the psychology field for more than fifteen years, earning her PhD and getting licensed along the way. She has worked with a wide range of children and adults in an equally wide variety of settings. Now, she brings her expertise to readers online with positive solution-focused models.
  13. Good Therapy: This blog is dedicated to helping individuals and families deal with emotional issues. Beyond this, you also can search for a therapist and explore “healthy counseling” through this site. GoodTherapy.org is an association of counselors & therapists who believe people are equipped to transform the obstacles to optimum health and happiness.
  14. Kitchen Table Medicine: Dr. Nicole Sundene is a licensed Naturopathic Physician, graduate of Bastyr University, and the author of Kitchen Table Medicine. Her goal is to introduce Naturopathic Medicine to her readers through a blog that offers information about a healthier diet and lifestyle.
  15. Spoon Lady Speaks: From the age of fifteen, Christine Miserandino has been diagnosed with a myriad of illnesses from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome to Epstein Barr, and finally, many years later to a determination of Lupus. Now, Christine helps others with lupus with her involvement in the Lupus Alliance, through her Web site, But You Don’t Look Sick, and through her blog.
  16. This Time ~ This Space: This blog is written by a woman who suffers from fibromyalgia. She focuses on self improvement through practical information on food, fitness, health and well being, through methods used to reduce stress, anxiety and to control pain, with articles on creative visualization, positive thinking, and goal setting and time management tools.
  17. Weighing the Facts: This blog is packed with helpful information for anyone who has eating disorders and the family as well. You’ll find tools, lists, articles and more that will help point in the right direction for self-help and for professional help as well.

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Physical Fitness

You can find hundreds of physical fitness and diet sites on the Internet today. Instead of listing sites specifically designed for specialized training or diets, we chose a few sites where you can join a support system as well as gain access to tools that will help you reach your fitness goals (which includes losing weight and gaining muscle). Each site has its own ‘personality,’ so we hope you can find something to fit your style.

  1. eDiets Blog: This blog tackles everything from eating to fitness and everything in between. Although the meals cost money, you can find diet plans, fitness documents, community and more here at the eDiets site.
  2. Hungry Girl: This is a link to the Hungry Girl homepage, as just about every category is a blog of sorts. If you have a daughter, or if you’re a teen or in your twenties, this site is perfect for you to learn how to eat right and enjoy it! Join the community for weigh-ins, discover tasty low-cal snacks and latest trends in food and dieting, and live the Hungry Girl lifestyle.
  3. Men’s Total Fitness: Men’s Total Fitness was launched in the winter of 2005 to provide honest information on how to get fit. The blog is updated daily with information on techniques and strategies designed to fit the “natural path” to fitness. You won’t find any weight loss pills, steroids, fad diets, or any “quick fixes” or gimmicks to getting fit here.
  4. My Calorie Counter: From this main page you can gain access to both Dodie’s and Summer’s blogs. Both blogs focus on fitness as well as on weight loss. The site provides great free tools for you to use, including a calorie counter, a free diet journal, forums and training videos. No matter your age or lifestyle, you can find something here that will help you to reach your goals.
  5. My Diet Exercise: This link will lead you to the page of ‘experts’ who write for this site. You’ll find blogs from fitness coaches to licensed dietitians, physicians and more. The site also contains numerous tools to help you meet your fitness and weight loss goals, such as diets, cooking tools and calculators and more.
  6. Nutrition Data: After all the food scares over the past two years, you might want to know what you’re putting in your mouth. This blog can help you determine how to feed yourself and your family as well as how to keep that food free from bacteria. The site also contains just about every label known on American foods so you can check the nutrients, fat and caloric intake contained in these foods. But don’t stop looking there; this site is filled with excellent tools that will help you regain and maintain a healthy diet.
  7. Prevention Blogs: From the magazine that has, historically, shown Americans how to avoid illnesses through healthy living, the blogs that will help keep you in line! But, don’t count on the blogs alone to help you; this site is chock-full of information, tools, diets and recipes. You could spend a month on this site in your quest to find your support system.
  8. SparkPeople: This link will take you to the blog entries produced by members to this site. This is a great way to meet people who have your goals in mind. Even if you don’t find someone to ‘buddy up’ with to meet your fitness goals, you can utilize all the tools located within the site. You can find a free diet plan, a fitness plan, a free blog, calorie counter and more — all for free.

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Spiritual Growth

Meditation, yoga, poetry and other tools can help you along the path to full self-actualization. The blogs below focus on the spiritual aspect, and they’re geared toward self-help and improvement.

  1. Flotsam. Jetsam.: If you’re fixated on Rumi, then you’ll find inspiration and solace in this blog, where the author is “mastering the art of soulbuilding.” The author is a self-described “irreverent, pre-retirement, post-ministerial, patriotically demoralized (almost), corporately subjugated…[former] knitter and grad student.”
  2. Happy Lists: Lists are not an amazing concept in the world of blogs; but lists can be helpful, and that’s the goal for this blog. Plus, they’re easy to read, packed with interesting information and created by a writer who harbors a passion for personal development and positive change.
  3. Meditation and Inspiration: If you seek daily inspirations to help guide your meditation, this simple blog is up your alley. Receive your “Daily OM” through email or visit the site to read through these spiritual guidances.
  4. Meditation Workshop: This blog is part of the larger site, Meditation Workshop, where you can find meditation teacher, online lessons, exercises and more for beginners to this practice. The blog addresses many questions that readers have posed, as well as information that will lead you easily along the meditative path.
  5. Philosophy with Fur: Who says spiritual growth needs to be serious? Take a clue from Dharma the Cat, as this cartoon entity offers up a weekly topic that author David Lourie expands upon. This is about as deep as you can get.
  6. Sri Chinmoy Inspiration:This is a blog on Self improvement written by Tejvan Pettinger, a teacher who studied at Oxford University. He now is a meditation student, and his guide is Sri Chinmoy. The focus here is on meditation and positive mental health.
  7. The Guide to Life Blog: Robin is an artist who will lead you through thoughts on playing in sandboxes to reading words on tombstones. Her blog focuses on abundance, acceptance, awakenings and enlightenment.
  8. The Sacred Path: Richard is a consultant for the electronics industry, and he has been studying Shamanism under Hank Wesselman and his wife, Jill Kuykendall since 2005. He shares his journey with readers with this blog, where he also lists plenty of other resources.
  9. Unforgettable Love Story: This blog supports Michael Skowronski’s book, “Unforgettable: A Love and Spiritual Growth Story.” The blog focuses on love and spiritual growth using practical tips gathered from first-hand knowledge. Skowronski’s background includes experience as a mystic, scientist, healer and software engineer.

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Women

Since the focus for this list is on blogs, we can’t add a helpful site such as Journeywoman, a site for women who travel alone (although we just did!). Instead, the blogs listed below either are stand-alone self improvement sites or are blogs that are part of a larger portal geared toward women. The topics range from health to pregnancy and from beauty to finance. In all cases, you can learn how to help yourself through the help provided by these writings…

  1. Ask April: the media has nicknamed April as “The New Millennium’s Dear Abby” for her willingness to write “what Dear Abby will never print, and what your shrink doesn’t have the guts to tell you.” April is the online dating and relationship advice expert, and she’s written several books on dating and relationship matters.
  2. Belly Tales: If you don’t know anything about pregnancy but you’d like to learn, then this blog provides a wealth of information from a midwife’s perspective. The author states that she’s, “doing this mostly for myself, but also for other student midwives, full-fledged midwives, doulas, birth educators, labor and delivery nurses, obstetricians, pregnant women everywhere, expectant fathers, new moms and dads, old moms and dads, feminists, advocates, activists and anyone, anywhere, who is interested in how we give birth, where we give birth and the way in which we give birth in this country.” You’ll find plenty of resources on this site as well.
  3. GenBetween: If you’ve got children to the right of you and aging parents to the left, then you’re stuck in the middle with Elizabeth, the author of this blog. She describes herself as the “Sandwich Generation Poster Child,” as an only child with a full time job, school-age children and a mother who was diagnosed as terminally ill with lung cancer. If you fit one of those qualifications, Elizabeth may have some answers to your questions about how to cope with being a member of the ‘in-between’ generation. Elizabeth also authors the Busy Mom blog (or, “better parenting through coffee”).
  4. Healthy Aging For Women: No matter your age, this blog provides the advice women need to hear about building and maintaining healthy and resilient bodies. The author of this blog is Barbara C. Phillips, a family & geriatric nurse practitioner. Barbara provides further resources for her readers as well as practical information that will help you to make the best decisions for yourself.
  5. Ideas for Women: This link will take you to the blog that belongs to the larger site, “Ideas for Women.” The issues tackled here include home and family, health and fitness, money and financial issues, travel and more. Readers can find tons of resources here as well.
  6. Our Bodies OurSelves: Our Bodies Ourselves (OBOS), also known as the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective (BWHBC), is a nonprofit, public interest women’s health education, advocacy, and consulting organization. Although based in Boston, this blog focuses on issues that affect women worldwide.
  7. Sparkplugging: This is one of the best site for work-at-home women, for work-at-home women with children, and for building community with other members of the Web 2.0 generation. Learn how to do just about anything through the lifestyle and business channels, and become self-sufficient through articles and how-to information that permeates this site.
  8. The Beauty Brains: Women like makeup, otherwise it wouldn’t be on the market. This is why this blog about what women use to alter their looks is so important. You’ll find real scientists answering questions about every beauty product and procedure imaginable. This blog provides a great way to learn more about the human body, as well as information on which products are healthy or not.
  9. Women’s Finance Blog: No matter if you’re ready to take charge of your finances or if you’re a skilled accountant, this blog will lead you to a rich resource for tools that can help you keep and increase your bottom line. You’ll find printable worksheets for budgeting, advice on your retirement or paying for college, and great articles and helpful tips to see you well on your way to financial success. The blog is part of a larger site, Women’s Finance, where you can find information on just about every financial situation known to womankind.
  10. Women’s Lunch Talk: This blog is sponsored by WomensMedia.com, and it is just a small piece of the entire site that focuses on working women’s issues. Nancy Clark, CEO of WomensMedia and a frequent speaker on issues involving gender in the workplace, authors the blog, and she focuses on issues that empower women in the office and at home. The Web site tackles issues that include self-employment, parenting, finances and more.
  11. Women’s Voices for Change: Women’s Voices for Change is “a news, commentary and opinion website that celebrates women’s health, beauty, wisdom and vibrancy.” While the site and blog is geared toward women over age 40, the issues are those that affect every woman. You’ll discover interviews, political news, health issues and more at this site.

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]]> http://onlinenursingdegreeguide.org/2008/100-awesome-self-improvement-blogs-improve-your-physical-and-mental-health-achieve-your-goals/feed/ Hello world! http://onlinenursingdegreeguide.org/2008/hello-world/ http://onlinenursingdegreeguide.org/2008/hello-world/#comments Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:04:36 +0000 admin http://onlinenursingdegreeguide.org/?p=1 Hello there. And welcome to Online Nursing Degree Guide.org, your home on the World Wide Web to all of the information you need on the best online nursing schools in the United States. While our web site appears a bit sparse at the moment, rest assured that come 2009 this thing will be rockin’ with the very best nursing school reviews and nursing degree information you can possibly find anywhere on the planet. Until then, please wait patiently. We’ll be up and running soon. I promise. Thanks for visiting.

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