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Health care kiosk shares patient stories

Research suggests that when going through an illness it is helpful to hear other patients' stories and share your own story. One company is attempting to address that need with a health care story kiosk that will allow patients to hear stories from those going through similar illnesses.

November 3, 2015

Research suggests that when going through an illness it is helpful to hear other patients' stories and share your own story. One company is attempting to address that need with a health care story kiosk called SharingClinic that will allow patients to hear and share their stories, according to a report by WBUR CommonHealth.

The kiosk was created by Dr. Annie Brewster, founder of Health Story Collaborative, who says that the medical system no longer has the time to listen to patients. She has compiled more than 100 clips for the project so far. The kiosk will feature a touchscreen that will allow patients to search for stories by theme, diagnosis or perspective.

"SharingClinic will take on a life of its own, constantly growing and changing, shaped by story sharers and listeners," Brewster said in the report. "Facing illness can be scary and isolating, and hospitals can be alienating. Our goals are to empower and connect individuals facing health challenges — to remind people that they are not alone — and to improve the culture of the hospital through storytelling."

The kiosk will be displayed at the Massachusetts General Hospital Paul S. Russel, MD Museum in January 2016 with plans to move it into the main hospital at some point in the future. Brewster also hopes to expand this program to other hospitals.

"Academic and medical institutions can breed isolation," she said. "But we need to start thinking more collectively if we truly want to re-humanize medicine."