Doctor Internet - Is the World Wide Web replacing MDs?
Published:Wednesday | August 21, 2013 | 12:00 AM
Anastasia Cunningham, Health Coordinator
If you're like me, each time you feel some ailment coming on, you watch it for a while, make note of the symptoms, then you go on the Internet and begin your search.
Without a doubt, you find countless websites that tell you 'exactly' what's wrong with you and serves up the treatment, including what medications to use, if needed.
Voila! You're cured! Problem solved! No need to find the time to head to the doctor's office, sit for hours in the waiting room, then pay all that money for the visit plus the prescribed medication.
'Doctor Internet' has saved the day once again. Or has it?
The explosion of the World Wide Web has led to a global phenomenon of more and more persons turning to 'Doctor Internet'.
According to a recent survey from Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project, 35 per cent of adults in the United States have gone online to self-diagnose a medical condition. Additionally, the findings revealed that 59 per cent of the adults look up health information.
Forty-six per cent said what they found online led them to believe they needed help from a medical professional. However, another 38 per cent said they thought they could treat it at home, while 11 per cent say it was in-between. The results were derived from a survey of 3,014 adults living across the United States.
DIFFERENT OPINION
The survey also revealed that less than half - 41 per cent - said that a doctor confirmed the diagnosis they made from online research. Thirty-five per cent said they did not seek a professional opinion, and 18 per cent said the medical professional or clinician did not agree with what they thought or had a different opinion about their condition.
Only one per cent of those diagnosed said talking to a medical professional was 'inconclusive'.
"It is important to note what these findings mean - and what they don't mean," the authors noted. "Historically, people have always tried to answer their health questions at home and made personal choices about whether and when to consult a clinician. Many have now added the Internet to their personal health toolbox, helping themselves and their loved ones better understand what might be ailing them. This study was not designed to determine whether the Internet has had a good or bad influence on health care. It measures the scope, but not the outcome, of this activity."
The authors emphasised that health-care professionals are still an important source where people can get more insight into their medical conditions, and most of that needs to be done in person.
Forty-three-year-old Shauna Murphy said she couldn't tell the last time she graced a doctor's office. Living in Portmore, St Catherine, with her two children, she said it was too expensive to visit the doctor each time her family came down with something.
"Every time I get sick, no matter what, I research it on the Internet and find out exactly what's wrong with me and I follow the advice they give and it always works," she shared.
MORE HARM THAN GOOD?
But is this trending practice doing more harm than good? How can you be sure you got the right diagnosis from 'Doctor Internet'?
Medical doctors have been warning strongly against this growing practice ever since the Internet became loaded with information, some believing that it's irresponsible for medical advice to be so freely available. Others, on the other hand, have no problem with people empowering themselves by getting as much information as possible about their medical condition, but they advise that persons must always seek professional help.
Acknowledging that the trend is also prevalent in Jamaica and is a major talking point among doctors, Dr Aggrey Irons, president of the Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ), told Health that people are often misdiagnosed this way, which can have serious consequences.
"This can be counterproductive, because sometimes they can create more problems by going this route and end up spending more on medical bills because they did not seek out proper medical treatment in the first place," Irons stated.
Unfortunately, he said, in a tight economy, people are going to seek out the more economic means, and health is usually one of the areas sacrificed.
"Remember there was a time when there was a big black book called the Medical Compendium. That is what people used to check on to find out how their symptoms matched up and so on, and people would read up about their illnesses and so on, the same way that they are checking on the Internet now, so it is not new behaviour. People have been second-guessing their doctors forever. As long as information is available, they are going to do that," said Irons.
"What is dangerous, though, is the fact that they are using 'Doctor Google' as the sole source of their medical knowledge and the reasons for intervening, when really it should be the other way around. It is quite all right if you go to your doctor and then you check on the side effects, etc, because not every doctor knows everything. Patients have a right to educate themselves. But when it is only the Internet that dictates their health-seeking behaviour, then that is going to be a problem."
The MAJ president pointed out that it could work both ways, because some persons were encouraged to see their doctors earlier because of what they may read on the Internet.
"An interesting phenomenon is the patient with relatives overseas who may be working in the health field, who are always trying to second-guess local doctors and make suggestions. In many an instance, it is the overseas persons who are paying the bills, so they feel they have a right to interfere, suggest and even sometimes try to dictate," Irons noted.