CENTER OFFERS MEDICAL ADVICE OVER INTERNET.Byline: Donna Huffaker Staff Writer In an effort to answer medical questions for people who are either too embarrassed or too sick to go to a doctor and ask, Glendale Adventist Medical Center Glendale Adventist Medical Center is located in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale, California. It was founded in 1905. Glendale Adventist Medical Center is a sister institution of Loma Linda University Medical Center and is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist hospital system. has linked up with a medical Internet service. People may dial up AmericasDoctor.com and chat with physicians, order prescriptions, learn about available local services and attend online lectures, said Philip Merritt, an orthopedic surgeon at Glendale Adventist. The hospital, which is the first in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County to go online with the site, recently added itself to the Web site's list of hospitals around the country, and will respond to questions from people living in 53 ZIP codes zip code System of postal-zone codes (zip stands for “zone improvement plan”) introduced in the U.S. in 1963 to improve mail delivery and exploit electronic reading and sorting capabilities. in the western region of the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , he said. ``I've backed up patients seated in the waiting room answering questions and explaining procedures that other patients need to understand. With an online service like this, you're able to deliver all the information needed in a forum that isn't so high-pressured,'' Merritt said. The site is running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If a person needs referrals for a specific health topic, they can usually be helped in less than a day. Glendale Adventist is a computer-savvy hospital that AmericasDoctor.com is thrilled to have on board, said Michael Cryor, vice president for the company's corporate communications Corporate communications is the process of facilitating information and knowledge exchanges with internal and key external groups and individuals that have a direct relationship with an enterprise. in Owings Mills, Md. ``It's a shopping mall for medical products and supplies and advice. And with a more Internet-enlightened public, people are coming into doctors' offices with reams of information. This will give them constant access to a physician,'' Cryor said. The hospital has been linked to the site since Aug. 15. Still in the works are online access to the Glendale Adventist medical library and links to video clips A short video presentation. , Merritt said. The company went live September 1998 and so far has linked nearly 100 hospitals around the country. Site visitors can request physicians from special fields or may ask about unusual procedures. They can listen in on live, online lectures and write articles and post them to the page. It's about patients getting an education without having it be so formal, Merritt said. ``This type of thing, for everyone, is a godsend god·send n. Something wanted or needed that comes or happens unexpectedly. [Alteration of Middle English goddes sand, God's message : goddes, genitive of God, God ,'' he said. |
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