Welcome to Dr. Nelson's
Patient Education & Links Page
First posted June 26, 2000 Last updated February 10, 2010
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copyright, DLNelson, 2000-2010
My Philosophy of Patient Care
My philosophy of patient care is that I do not give
treatment to my patients, I do it for and with
my patients. This is a subtle distinction when you put it into print,
but is in fact a tremendous difference when you put it into practice. Patient
education is a very important part of this philosophy. When the patient
has an understanding of their condition and the treatment options, they
are ready to manage their own healthcare. I want to be an integral part
of that healthcare, but I believe nothing empowers the patient like information.
That is the reason I created this website. (Click here
for an article in the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery's Bulletin
on Dr. Nelson's work with patient education websites.)
My staff and I are here to serve you. If we ever fail in that mission,
please bring it to my attention. I did not get the right to
treat patients when I got my medical license, I got the privilege
of serving patients when you made an appointment to see me, and I have to
re-earn it at every visit.
You may also want to review my academic credentials and our follow-up visit form to better understand my philosophy of patient care. Here is an article on how I use the Internet to help improve the care of my patients.
Patient Education Pages
I have written these pages as a way of helping you to understand your hand problem. All of the pages contain links to other sources of information. Please read the section below on Medical Information on the Internet before you use these links.
Other Patient Information written by Dr. Nelson
Instructions before
Surgery
Instructions after Surgery
Post-operative Pain Management
Post-Operative Considerations
Choosing a Doctor
Managed Care & Financial Incentives:
Hard Facts for Patients
Medical Information on the Internet
There is a lot of very useful information available on the Internet. Some of it is very good, but you should also be aware that some of it is very bad (for an interesting and exhaustive study of bad medical information both on and off the net, see QuackWatch). It is important, whenever you research medical information on the Internet, that you ascertain who wrote the material. The material that is listed above I wrote; the material listed below I did not write. Each page of my site will state if I did not write the material, and will cite both the author of the material and the date of the posting. All my pages state the date that the material was first posted and last updated. Judge a site on the quality of the content, the qualifications of the author, and the fact that they are not selling or promoting anything. Don't judge a site by the quality of the graphics! (For more information, see this.) Hucksters throughout history have been great salesmen!
Be cautious of sites that are not signed or are not academically connected (although some academic sites are incorrect or out of date), or sites that have a product to sell. I have provided this Links Page to help you find good information. I have reviewed all of the material in these links at the time I created the link; it is not possible for me to keep up with any changes that the hosts may have made. Some of these sites are posted by medical associations of which I am a member: the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons or the American Society for Surgery of the Hand. I am on the Internet Committees of both of these organizations and might have had some input into their content, but I do not have control over any of the content. Some of these sites are run by physicians. I have included private sites only if I personally know the surgeon and trust their judgment. I do not agree with all of the information or approaches listed. Sometimes the sites have statements that are controversial and have been included to represent all possible viewpoints. If any information you read is at variance with what I have told you, please download the page and bring it in with you for your next visit. I will explain the differences or possibly your interpretation of the material. If you have found quality material at other sites, please bring the information in and I will review it. If I agree that it is quality information, I may add a link to it.
Other Patient Information Available On-Line
I would recommend that you first try these sites, as they have been written by my professional organizations (I am on the Internet Committees for all of these):
American
Society for Surgery of the Hand Patient Education Brochures
American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery
Patient Education Information
Another great site is OWL, which is associated with the Internet Society for Orthopedic Surgery and Trauma (ISOST), a nonprofit group of orthopedic surgeons. I am on the Board of Directors. This is a collection of patient education sites that have been reviewed for quality by Myles Clough, MD, the 2000-2002 president of ISOST.
Other Interesting Medical Information
Merck Manual: Seventeenth Edition is an on-line medical textbook, useful for non-orthopedic conditions (ie, it is a medical text, not a surgical text).
Orthopedic
Care eMedicine is an on-line orthopedic surgery text, well-edited and
should be quite good.
National
Library of Medicine's Drug Information
If you are interested in looking up a disease or diagnosis by the codes that are used in medical record keeping and billing, you can find them at International Classification of Diseases-9.
Dictionary of Medical Terms named after a person
Other topics you may be interested in
California Patient's Guide: an on-line guide to patients' rights.
Lyme Disease: this site is by the California Department of Health Services.
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