Physicians making house calls have become a thing of the past. But,
thanks to the wonders of Internet technology, people can stay home and
get answers to their health questions by linking on-line with a physician
through a new service provided by the University of Nebraska Medical Center
and KETV (Channel 7).
A new joint UNMC/KETV home page, being launched Thursday, May 8, features
Ed Dominguez, M.D., a UNMC infectious disease specialist who covers health
topics on KETV’s Newswatch 7 HealthWatch segments. For the first time,
Dr. Dominguez will answer viewers’ questions live on-line Thursday from
5 to 6:30 p.m., from the Channel 7 newsroom.
Viewers who miss his health updates can now find them on the new web
site at http://www.unmc.edu/healthwatch. Since May 1994, Dr. Dominguez
has done more than 350 KETV HealthWatch segments. His segments air four
nights a week on KETV’s 10 p.m. newscasts, and he frequently appears live
on other newscasts to provide information on late-breaking health stories.
UNMC employees had an opportunity to test the chat room last week during
a 90-minute practice exercise. More than 30 health questions were handled.
"We’re really excited about the home page and chat room concept,"
said Dr. Dominguez. "With the growing popularity of the Internet,
it provides a unique and timely way for consumers to get health information."
UNMC and KETV hope to hold the on-line chat rooms with Dr. Dominguez
on a regular basis, said Rose Ann Shannon, KETV news director. "We
will be promoting the chat room in our newscasts," Shannon said, "so
we’re hopeful that our viewers will take advantage of it. We think it’s
a wonderful service to have a physician of Dr. Dominguez’s caliber make
himself available to the public like this."
Of the 2,769 physicians in Nebraska, Dr. Dominguez was one of only 169
physicians in the state listed in "The Best Doctors in America: Central
Region" book, which came out earlier this year. A native of San Antonio,
Dr. Dominguez earned his undergraduate degree from Rice University in Houston
and his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He has
been at UNMC since 1992.
In addition to being able to contact Dr. Dominguez directly via the
chat room, people will have access to more health information through the
UNMC/KETV home page, which provides health stories covered by Dr. Dominguez.
They also will be able to email comments and story suggestions to Dr. Dominguez
via this web site. The UNMC/KETV home page links back to the main UNMC
home page (http://www.unmc.edu/), which also is a source for consumer health
information.