What is DNM?
DNM – Digital Narrative Medicine is a digital diary of a patient, or their family members, which is shared with the caregiver. The diary is used by the doctor as part of a narrative medicine program
What is narrative medicine
Narrative medicine is a methodology which enhances the listening and interpretation of patients’ stories for faster diagnosis and more appropriate and personalized treatments. In March 2015, the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Italian Institute of Advanced Health) published guidelines for the application of narrative medicine in clinical practice
Does DNM cure through stories?
No, DNM is a support tool for the diagnostic-therapeutic path, just like an ultrasound.
How is DNM accessed?
The patient is invited to access DNM by the caregiver who uses the platform individually or as a member of a health organization that has chosen DNM for its narrative medicine program.
Can DNM be used on a smartphone?
DNM can be used on a computer, smartphone or tablet, with access from a browser or through a dedicated app.
Does DNM allow the use of questionnaires?
DNM is not designed to carry out surveys with questionnaires. DNM is a patient diary that is shared with caregivers. The patient is guided by a set of narrative prompts, which appear in sequence, after responding to the previous prompt or following a chronological path.
What are narrative prompts?
The prompts are created by the caregiver or research team and guide the patient to talk about his or her problem and needs. The prompts help to build a narrative path that can be useful for diagnosis and treatment. Each prompt corresponds to a set of predefined characters for the patient’s story. An email alerts the patient when there is a new prompt.
Can patients write even when there is no prompt?
Patients can talk about any symptoms and experiences that they feel are important whenever they want, within the framework of a set of predefined characters.
Who can write the stories?
Patients and their caregivers can write the stories.
Who can read the stories?
The stories associated to a specific patient’s personal information are read by their caregiver and medical team. In anonymous form, the stories can be shared for use in research projects on pathologies and therapies, for guidelines, and communication and awareness campaigns
Can the stories be downloaded?
Both caregivers and patients can download the stories and save them on their computers.
How long is DNM used?
The period of time varies from case to case and depends on the diagnosis and therapeutic objectives of the single patient. When the path is finished, the platform can no longer be accessed but the stories are available for another 30 days to be downloaded and saved.
Do caregivers engage in conversations with patients through DNM?
No, DNM does not provide for chats or online doctor-patient conversations. Doctors read the stories when they feel it is most useful and discuss the stories with patients during their planned appointments.
Can patients use DNM to report urgent problems?
For urgent problems and emergencies, patients should contact their doctors directly or go to the emergency room. Doctors do not read the stories in real time.
Can patients use DNM to talk about the serious side effects of drugs?
Serious reactions to medications must be reported directly to doctors.