Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Patients self-diagnosis via the Internet, I Just Gave My Doc A Headache

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Finding Health Information via The Internet
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The Doctors Visit....
Most of us have done it, we try to be elusive, we ask questions during our visit already knowing the answers, or do we?
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How many times have you googled your symptoms, and after finding the diagnoses you make the doctors appointment. Hey, I have done it, I'm waiting for my ultrasound results, it' my gallbladder, or it's my liver, it could be gas. Just putting it out there.
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Sitting here this morning drinking my coffee, I smile, because I have done this so many times. I have also done this to my kids, and now, when I mention they may need to see a doctor because I am convinced their thyroid should be checked, they say " Mom you're WebMD'ed. Really ?
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Wait ! in my defence I have been right a few times, heres my list :
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Diagnosed myself with HCV
Diagnosed a family member years ago; she was having a heart attack and no one believed me.
Diagnosed an Aunt with cataracts, well, I was wrong.
Diagnosed my neighbor with ringworm, not a big achievement but I'm counting it.
Diagnosed my son and daughter with sluggish thyroid, bingo ! I was right, but then almost every family member has hypothyroidism, well except the cocker spaniel, we lost her to diabetes, missed that one.
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Oh my, I am dangerous, and I even scare myself at times. In my case the Internet has caused me to be, shall I say it, " A little neurotic"? Ya think ?
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There was a related story in the news today : When Hospital Checklists Don't Tell The Whole Story which covered Hospital Compare websites .
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Hmmm, I have used those also.
So here I am diagnosing myself, my children and picking the doctor my mother needs to see for her stress test, using one of those websites. Google is calling my name....someone stop me !
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Folks, this is the really scary part; by walking into the physicians office assuming we know what the deal is, with all symptoms in check. We're going to get those tests we're asking for, even if we don't need them. Because in this day and age your physician has no choice but to order those tests. What am I doing ?
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What about after I get a diagnoses ?
Once your physician does find a diagnoses researching information is beneficial. The information you find online may not correlate with your particular scenario. With each aliment or disease the spectrum is wide, there is no comparing your problem with others.
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A physician can only go by what his patients symptoms are and once we assume we know what ails us, those symptoms can manifest and may be exaggerated. No way !
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This whole Internet self diagnoses phenomenon has been articulated in a lovely fashion by Suzanne MacFarland in an article I found on Stanfords Medical blog :The Doctor Versus the Google Search: How to Enrich the Provider-Patient Relationship in the Age of Internet Health Information
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Ms. MacFarland writes; "There is a stranger in the clinic room, and it is not your patient. This stranger is a multifaceted, opinionated entity with likely conflict-of-interest. This new acquaintance has already spoken to your patient and influenced the direction of this visit in the form of health statistics, symptom explanations, and feared complications. Now your patient wants to know what you think. In an age when patients will often have diagnosed their problem before they walk through a clinic door, the provider may start to feel overwhelmed by a third entrant into the patient-provider dialogue: the elusive online source".
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I'm going to take my own advice, and the next time I don't feel well, I'll let my doctor do her job.
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Although I do think the squirrel in my yard has the mange.
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Mange is a class of persistent contagious skin diseases caused by parasitic mites. The term is sometimes reserved for the infestation of domestic animals.
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