Get Smart (!) phones to Improve Your Health
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Link here for the MP3 podcast version. | My stomach is a little upset. I’ve suffered some cramping and diarrhea, plus I’m having trouble keeping food down. But I just don’t have time for a doctor appointment.
So I go online and find one of those symptoms analyzers – a drawing of a human body that asks me to click on a body part or system that is having problems, then drill down to diagnose myself. I check off “woman” then “stomach” then “nausea and vomiting”...
A dozen more questions later, I learn I might have a stomach bug, an ulcer, appendicitis, or even ovarian cancer.
Am I any closer to my diagnosis than I was before? Not really. If anything, I am probably more confused, possibly frightened, and now I am nervous about seeing my doctor. Suddenly, using that symptom checking software doesn’t seem like it was such a good idea.
Recent studies show that up to 84 percent of us are using the Internet to diagnose ourselves before we visit our doctors. One researcher suggests that most of us only see our doctors for second and third opinions; we get our first opinion from the Internet.
The truth is, you will never get a definitive diagnosis from these online symptom checkers, nor from other web information, because they aren’t created to diagnose you to begin with. They can’t! They don’t know you as an individual, nor do they know your medical history. They haven’t talked to you, run medical tests nor analyzed the results. Further, if they claimed to diagnose you, you could sue them if they were wrong. In fact, you’ll find that disclaimers always accompany symptoms checking sources, with the recommendation that you visit your doctor.
And don’t forget – no matter what your diagnosis, no website can provide a prescription for you. If you need treatment that requires a doctors’ signature, you’ll need to see your doctor in person.
From our patient perspective, it’s best to use the Internet, websites, and symptoms analyzers as tools to prepare for a medical appointment, or to learn more afterwards. We can learn about the range of possibilities, helping us to ask questions more intelligently, and better understand the possible tests and treatments our doctor might suggest.
Knowing when and how to use Internet resources is like choosing the right tool for home repair. You wouldn’t use a screwdriver or wrench to drive a nail. Don’t use the Internet to diagnose yourself either. |
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Trisha Torrey
is the author of
You Bet Your Life!
The 10 Mistakes
Every Patient Makes
(How to Fix Them
to Get the
Health Care You Deserve)
It expands on the articles found
on this site, providing an
exposé of the problems that
exist in the healthcare system,
and tools you can use to get the care you deserve.
....
Learn more about
You Bet Your Life!
........................
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at no cost to you. |
