Fisher Takes Tournament of Champions Title by InsidePOOL Staff “I feel like I just won an Olympic Gold Medal,” said an elated Kelly Fisher moments after capturing the 2009 Mohegan Sun International Tournament of Champions title. The spirited $20,000 winner-takes-all event was held at Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino in Uncasville, CT, October 28. Fisher, originally from [...]

Team USA Downs Team Europe in World Cup of Trick Shots by InsidePOOL Staff The World Cup of Trick Shots was held October 29 at Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino in Uncasville, CT, where Team USA claimed the title over Team Europe in the fourth annual international team competition in the sport of trick shots. The prize [...]

Daughters Charlene Steving, left, and JoAnn Young help Helen Gallagher last month. Young e-mails concerns to Gallagher's doctor.

The Internet's power to make something "go viral" has surpassed the phrase's original meaning.

Sneeze once, you might pass a virus to the person next to you. Post something online, the entire world might get infected.

Take the H1N1 vaccine: Last Thursday morning, the search term "H1N1 vaccine dangers" hit Google's top 10 searches.

A video of a cheerleader supposedly crippled after getting the flu vaccine received almost a million hits.

It's driving doctors crazy, as they insist the vaccine is safe and anti-vaccine preachers are plain wrong.

But the H1N1 story is evidence of a broader trend: The public's appetite for Internet health information has fundamentally altered the doctor-patient relationship.

Doctors are no longer perceived as the only authority on health information.

"People don't have that kind of patriarchal relationship with their physicians anymore," said Dr. Maxine Barish-Wreden, who heads Sutter's integrative medicine team. "They come in, and they're armed with some data already."

Almost all U.S. physicians said in a survey that at least some patients bring to appointments health information they found online, according to the Manhattan Research Group, a company that researches health care trends.

Sometimes it means those precious few minutes with the doctor can be spent setting the patient on the right track.

"There's such a fine line between somebody who's well-informed and somebody who's misinformed," said Diane Chan, a pediatrician at Kaiser's Roseville Medical Center. "Because then I have two jobs: One, to convince you you don't have a disease that you think you do, and then to diagnose you with the right thing."

Sixty-one percent of Americans look online for health information, the majority of whom say their last search had an impact on medical decisions, according to a 2009 survey from Washington, D.C.-based Pew Research Center. The research group dubbed them "e-patients."

Evelyn Meletlidis of Roseville said she looks up health information online every day because she has an autistic 4-year-old. She belongs to Internet groups for parents of kids with autism. Members trade tips on everything from diets to vaccinations.

Her choice not to continue vaccinating her son was a decision made after extensive research online and offline, she said, and one not welcomed by doctors.

"I've been literally kicked out of offices because I won't vaccinate my child," she said.

Despite all the online information, Pew researchers also found the Internet hasn't replaced doctors.

"People turn first to their doctor, then to Dr. Mom, and third to Dr. Google," said Suzanne Fox, one of the Pew study authors.

Roughly two-thirds of doctors think online health research is a good thing, according to the Manhattan Research Group.

When harnessed in the correct way, doctors say, the Internet makes the patient a partner, not a passive bystander. If a patient already has researched a specific condition, it means a physician can bypass the basics and get right down to real questions.

"I've heard anecdotally that specialists who care for people with chronic diseases are more welcoming of e-patients," Fox said. "This patient is hitting the ground running and therefore the doctor can jump to the next level."

Some providers have tapped into this thirst for knowledge with their own online information channels. Patients at Kaiser Permanente can log onto an interactive Web site and find information and videos on topics such as how to prepare for a major surgery.

Other doctors said the Internet is a good tool for engaging patients.

Dr. Kristopher Kordana said e-mail has made his internal medicine practice more patient-centered, as counter-intuitive as that sounds.

Kordana, who works at Kaiser South Sacramento Medical Center, said many patients are elderly or have persistent conditions. In the past, when they wanted professional advice, they would have to call the advice nurse. The message would have to be delivered to Kordana, and he would call back. Inevitably, there was a lot of phone tag.

Now the patient can just e-mail him directly, Kordana said. If he's at his computer, he can respond in under a minute.

If the matter is not urgent, he'll ask a patient to come in. But many health issues don't need an appointment, such as sending out a quick medical reminder.

"It's really freed up my time so I actually have more face-to-face with patients," Kordana said. "And when I do see patients, our visit is much more efficient."

One of his patients is Helen Gallagher, whose daughter JoAnn Young trades e-mails with Kordana. Gallagher is 94 years old and doesn't e-mail, but she knows how to contact Kordana, Young said.

"My mother always says to us, 'Did you e-mail the doctor and tell him?' " Young said.

Eglesias Undefeated in Edison Tri-State Tour / Brooklyn, NJ by InsidePOOL Staff Thirty-two players converged upon Gotham City Billiards in Brooklyn, NJ, October 31, for the Tri-State Tour’s B-D event. Tony Eglesias won the lion’s share of the $750-added purse when he triumphed over Robert Kight in the final match. Eglesias went undefeated through the field. In the winners’ [...]

Moore Scores at Diamond Pub Diamond Pub 9-Ball Tournament / Louisville, KY by Tom Fryer Junior Moore is a champion, and he has first-time promoter Ernie Borraga to thank. Borraga joined forces with Louisville’s venerable tournament room, The Diamond Pub, to stage a 9-ball event November 1. Of the 32 invited players competing in the $375-added event, Moore [...]

Radowitz Rakes in BCW Victory Billiard Congress of Wisconsin / Madison, WI by InsidePOOL Staff Fifteen of Wisconsin’s best amateurs showed up at the November 1 installment of the Billiard Congress of Wisconsin’s new tour, with Tom Radowitz taking home first place. The $400-added event was hosted by the Brass Ring in Madison, WI. The field was [...]

SureWest Communications' broadband Internet business keeps growing and its telephone business keeps shrinking.

The result was a third quarter that was essentially flat.

The Roseville telecommunications company said Thursday that its third-quarter loss widened to $211,000 from $101,000 a year earlier. The increased loss was mainly due to higher depreciation costs. Per-share loss doubled to 2 cents.

Steve Oldham, SureWest's president and chief executive, applauded the results in light of a weak economy. "Quite good considering the circumstances," he said on a conference call with investment analysts.

Revenue fell 1 percent to $59.5 million. Broadband sales grew 11 percent while telephone revenue, the legacy of SureWest's old Roseville Telephone operation, declined 19 percent.

Traditional landline telephone companies have struggled in recent years as the wireless industry grows.

Broadband accounted for about two-thirds of SureWest's revenue in the quarter, and the company plans to roll out a new video-on-demand service in December in the Sacramento area.

SureWest also competes in the Kansas City area.

Results were announced after the stock market closed. SureWest shares closed at $9.91, up 21 cents, on the Nasdaq market.

– Dale Kasler

Team USA Taking Shape as Three More Named Blend of Youth and Experience Attempting To Regain Cup Matchroom Sport can announce three more players to join Johnny Archer on Team USA as they attempt to win the Mosconi Cup outright for the first time since 2005. As expected, the Nos. 1 and 2 ranked players on the [...]