- With Mayo Clinic obstetrician and medical editor-in-chief
Roger W. Harms, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Roger W. Harms, M.D.
Roger W. Harms, M.D.
"Nothing helps people stay healthy more than the power of real knowledge about health." — Dr. Roger Harms
As medical editor-in-chief, Dr. Roger Harms is excited about the potential for MayoClinic.com to help educate people about their health and provide them the tools and information to live healthier lives.
The Auburn, Neb., native has been with Mayo Clinic since 1981 and is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology. Dr. Harms is a consultant and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and his specialty areas include office gynecology, high-risk obstetrics and obstetrical ultrasound.
From 2002 to 2007, Dr. Harms was director for education for Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dr. Harms was the 1988 Mayo Medical School Teacher of the Year and served as associate dean for student affairs and academic affairs before taking this leadership role. He is the co-author of the "Mayo Clinic Model of Education." In 2008, Dr. Harms was presented the Distinguished Educator Award, Mayo Clinic, Rochester.
Dr. Harms is vice chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and medical editor of the Pregnancy section on this Web site. In addition, Dr. Harms is editor-in-chief of the "Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy" book, a month-by-month guide to everything a woman needs to know about having a baby.
"My medical education experience has grown out of a love of teaching, and that is what this site is about," Dr. Harms says. "If any visitor to this site makes a more informed and thus more comfortable decision about his or her health because of the information we provide, we are successful."
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Editor's blog
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March 3, 2009
Creating a new site for you
By Roger W. Harms, M.D.
Today's guest blogger is Matt Diamanti, director of user experience and design.
In the last blog post, Dr. Harms welcomed you and mentioned plans for our redesigned site. He also mentioned our core objective for this site: "Empower people to manage their health." For me, as our director of user experience and design, that means that every time you visit us you:
- Can trust us with your personal story
- Get what you need to clearly understand your current health situation
- Feel capable of completing your goals
- Know that you can depend on us again
To ensure that this happens, we designed the new site following a human-centered design (HCD) process. It had three phases:
Hear
We watched a sample of volunteers use our existing site, asked them questions about it, and experienced the successes and failures they encountered. In short, you told us to:
- Have all information about a topic in one easy-to-find location
- Provide more information about symptoms
- Be more transparent about the sources we researched for our information
- Create more multimedia
- Have a less cluttered and easier-to-use home page
- Provide a soothing and more updated look and feel
Create
We thought of new ideas for the site and created working models of them. Then we watched you use those models, and identified things that worked and things that didn't.
Deliver
Finally, we created a detailed blueprint of the new site and worked with our technical colleagues to produce and release it to you.
A few of the new features you'll soon experience:
- A new home page more focused on helping you easily find information
- Expansion of our "find it fast" method to symptoms, tests and procedures, and drugs and supplements
- New topic-specific guides where you can find all information about a topic in one place
- A new "Multimedia" viewer for browsing all images, interactive media, video and audio related to a topic
- An expandable reference section that details our sources
- A soothing and more updated visual design
We've created a slide show for you to get a sneak peek. Just click on the link below.
I hope you'll enjoy these new features, and once you've had a chance to experience them, I'd like to know - did we deliver? Do you trust us? Do you clearly understand your current health situation? Do you feel capable of completing your goals? Do you believe you can depend on us again?
I'd love to hear from you.
- Matt Diamanti
18 comments posted
November 8, 2009 9:32 a.m.
We need to get more information on MRSA out to Dr's.After seeing 10 regular Dr's, and 2 dermitologists about my skin rash, which i HAD FOR SEVERAL years. I WAS TOLD IT WAS EVERYTHING FROM SKIN CANCER and TETNUS,to possible leukemia, to adult acne, but NOT ONE DR. took a sample to send anywhere!I am now scared in so many ways from not finding the truth,until I discovered pictures on the british medical site ,and brought them to my Dr begging for the perscribed antibiotics...They worked!and I am pain ,fever,infection free now!I also used alot of hydrogen pyroxide topically to help the process.But the real problem is that even though I had full medicare and all tests were paid for, not ONE ordered any .Please I have met at least 50 people in Hudson valley ,NY who have this MRSA, it is epidemic and no one had any answers!It seems like the medical profession is either ignoring it,is un-educated,overtaxed,or COVERING THE PROBLEM UP!A public health campain is needed!Alot is being done on YOU TUBE by laymen ,,why can't it be followed up by the healthcare profession?!Please help rectify this Mayo Clinic before more people are hurt, and /or killed!It is worse than any flu at least in this area!
- Lisa
March 18, 2009 12:24 p.m.
What info do you have on postmenopausal women? Is there really an accurate way to measure ones hormone levels? I have read blood and saliva and then some say this is not accurate. Help I don't know what to do??
- mary Anne
March 14, 2009 9:26 a.m.
My son Andrew, aged 25yrs...he had a problem from Dec2006 , when he walked for not too long he developed a pain in the calve muscles... by Oct 2007 he was seen by the Drs. here in Mumbai and afte a series of tests , it was decided that they do surgery on both his legs fo bi lateral compartment pressure syndrome..he seemed to have got relief but by nov 2008 the pain recurred and now the drs. advice surgery again....could anyone help I have all the repots which I could scan... and could anyone direct me as to whom i have to consult.. have seen the orthopedics..thanks..lea
- lea mathias
March 13, 2009 9:44 a.m.
I've been a patient at MC x2-in MN and FL. Thinking of returning due to multiple dx that run me to different drs. but don't see anyone looking at the total picture. Tried to find parapsoriasis on your site but can't. Is it there somewhere? Thanks
- Mary Wood
March 11, 2009 8:45 p.m.
Would like to see more about herbal therapy (ex: extract from plant for weight reduction)need to explore for dangers & safety under the section A - Z as many Drs do not wish to talk about alternative methods
- Lorraine Hannan
March 10, 2009 9:58 p.m.
Hi, My mom and dad are first cousins. We adult children are now seeing the health problems of our parents inbreeding. Mental illness, rashes, fungus, asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes, to name a few. We adult children may beging dying at middle age. Our health is quickly going bad.
- Jeannie812
March 8, 2009 10:04 p.m.
I had previously given all health details,ECG and asked,'is my heart failing'?Then cancelled it all.I realised that self-acknowledgement doesn't need to be affirmed.I suffered a reaction to Flixotide,questioned it,created defensive denial from Medical professionals.I am alone because of this,but not-God is with me,I have been healed spiritually,emotionally.Now all is irrelevant.The what/how/why matter no more.I am blessed because of this,I would rather this journey with mixed connective tissue diseases(CSS?)towards God and his love than living going no-where,with rejection and disillusion.
- Sandy Bird
March 8, 2009 1:30 p.m.
why did they recall toprol xl what is the matter with the drug and what can be subs for it
- g coeyman
March 8, 2009 3:33 a.m.
Hello, I have an idea to shorten patient stay, in a hospital setting, at a relatively low cost. My wife stayed in the hospital a number of times. Diane has SARCOMA CANCER and when she is in the hospital (any hospital), she is not able to sleep well as with that of most the patients. Rest is most certainly allowed for the physical portion of her stay, but that of mental stress and a sound sleep, that can be evasive. I am speaking of the constant (at all hours) ringing of the bell of the battery operated IVs. When they are low ( the amount of fluid in the over-hanging plastic bottles), or there is a crink in the line somewhere...the RED LIGHT flashes (which is ok) and there is that loud bell or intermittent alarm that sounds. This happens for all patients receiving fluids, and if there are 4 patients in a room, it IS nerve racking for all. I am certain that someone in your hospital has heard of the Clapper. It was developed a few years ago. Someone would clap their hands and a light would turn on. The same idea can be applied within. Instead of clapping one's hands to make a light turn on, the sound (or vibration) from the alarm (or Bell) on the IV would now be silent, and it would trigger a small strobe light above the door on the outside, in addition to the light when a patient needs assistance The nurse could easily see the light, come into the room, knowing that the problem would be as described above with an IV of one of the patien
- Bryan DuCayne
March 6, 2009 5:11 p.m.
Fantastic news! We love the old site, and we're looking forward to seeing how the new one turns out.
- Health Sciences Researcher
March 6, 2009 4:19 p.m.
Health Sciences Researcher - Links on MayoClinic.com will work just as they did before unless a section of the site no longer exists. In those cases, we make our best effort to redirect you to what we feel is the equivalent content in the new design.
- - MayoClinic.com staff
March 5, 2009 12:17 p.m.
For those of us who often refer others to specific URLS for info, what can we expect in regards to current pages? Will we have to update all of our links?
- Health Sciences Researcher
March 5, 2009 6:58 a.m.
I have heard that asking readers for advise is a good way to do it. First, it involves the readers and makes them feel like they are a part of it. And second, it makes it really easy for you to know what your readers are interested in. Tom Drug Intervention Connecticut
- No name given
March 4, 2009 2:15 p.m.
Is it possible to have age/generation related info pages? Some advice seems to be directed toward mid-agers/Boomers which is fine but do not help older or younger people. For instance, the article on activity/exercise is great for Boomers or even Gen Xers, but old timers need a little more help, or is it too late in life to exercise when you're 70-90? Even Gen Y may be interested in a section just for them.
- Roberta S.
March 4, 2009 7:58 a.m.
I'd still like to know where to go for information about specific health problems that aren't listed. How do I talk to someone about a specific need?
- Connie F.
March 3, 2009 10:22 p.m.
I HAVE JUST GOT TO SAY THANKYOU. I HAVE FOUND THIS SITE EXCEPTIONAL. I AM NEW TO THE USING OF A COMPUTER BUT THE RELEIF OF KNOWING THAT THE INFO I GET FROM THIS SITE HAS DONE WONDERS FOR ME . I DONT FEEL ALONE IN MY SITUATION ANY LONGER. I SAY BRAVO!
- kristal e.
March 3, 2009 9:53 p.m.
It looks good - but I can't say much more until I see a true sized version - this - or maybe it's my computer - is too small to read anything - but I get the gist. Something that would also be nice - make the top banners much thinner so we do not have to scroll down each time to see the last 3/4 of the page. Looks like a good start. Thanks!
- ljc
March 3, 2009 4:34 p.m.
I think you are to be commended, because this new site is a definite improvement over what you had. It certainly brings the information to the subscriber in an excellent manner and is much more user oriented.
- Stephen Folkson
18 comments posted