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Injury & Illness Advisor
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Injury & Illness Advisor

Suffering an accident-related injury or an illness can be scary, and not knowing when to stay home and when go to the hospital can only add to the stress and confusion. The OU Medical Center announces the availability of its new CareEnhance Online Symptom Advisor, a user-friendly website containing guidelines designed to assist healthcare consumers caring for a sick or injured family member.

According to Ray L. Gottesfeld, M.D., chief medical officer at McKesson Health Solutions, "Ninety-five percent of healthcare decisions are made by consumers, and we are now providing them with the information and power to help manage many of these decisions." 

Funded in partnership with the Kohl's Cares for Kids program, the site will be accessible to the general public 24 hours a day via the OU Medical Center website. Simply go to our Injury & Illness Advisor page. Parents can now use this tool to help determine whether they need to call a doctor, go to the emergency room or carry out treatment at home.

Online Symptom Advisor provides care recommendations for pediatric injuries and illnesses, based on the symptoms reported by the user. Most medical conditions can be quickly analyzed, directing consumers to the appropriate level of healthcare.

Online Symptom Advisor helps parents evaluate their child's condition and advises them to do one of the following:

  • View self-care instructions that include home treatment advice
  • Visit or call a healthcare provider within a specific timeframe
  • Go to an urgent care center or emergency department
  • Call 911

Because it deal's with personal information, the site's privacy policy adheres to all appropriate HIPAA regulations. 

The Online Symptom Advisor underwent thorough clinical testing in the emergency department and clinic of a Florida integrated delivery network to evaluate the service's efficacy, safety and patient usability. Through this testing, McKesson's clinical content developers have ensured that healthcare consumers can readily understand the questions and recommendations made by the Online Symptom Advisor.

Written in easy-to-understand, non-technical language, medical questions lead the user through "yes" and "no" questions to the appropriate care option. Ninety-seven percent of people who have tested the program said that the questions were easy or very easy to understand and answer.

 "OU Medical Center is excited to present this helpful tool to the public," said Sissy Tubb, RN, CPN and Call Center Manager. "Not only will it direct patients to the correct level of healthcare needed, it will save them time and money by reducing unnecessary hospital visits and expenses."

Try out the Online Symptom Advisor today.