Idea: A while ago I published an idea about WebDoctors on this forum. While it generated some interest, seemed far fetched to most people who communicated to me. So here's an idea which is only incremental and uses the existing infrastructure of medical system. Many times I've gone to my dentist and come back confused. Did my dentist examine me properly? When she said everything was okay, was I really fine? When she said I needed some procedures urgently, could I really not wait? Sometimes I didn't agree with my dentist's priority about the work needed in my mouth. What if the medical (or dental) examination reports could be published online in a standard format, and I could show it to some other doctor (or dentist) for second opinion for a small fee? It would be like having both the doctors examine you at the same time, and having their consolidated opinion. After all, medicine (or dentistry) is not a perfect science.
Reward: Peace of mind. If your family doctor is not in the same town (or country), this way you can still seek her opinion despite being far far away. Since she knows you since your childhood, her opinion would really matter a lot.
Bonus: Once these reports are online, they can be made anonymous and can be studied by various people for satisfying their curiosity, for learning or for journalizing. Systematic research on this information could lead to improvement in diagnosis through collaboration.
Reward: Peace of mind. If your family doctor is not in the same town (or country), this way you can still seek her opinion despite being far far away. Since she knows you since your childhood, her opinion would really matter a lot.
Bonus: Once these reports are online, they can be made anonymous and can be studied by various people for satisfying their curiosity, for learning or for journalizing. Systematic research on this information could lead to improvement in diagnosis through collaboration.
3 comments:
This sounds very useful.
One the things I have noticed from my doctor's appointments, is that the test results are never made available to the patient, by default. It is against their best interests to do so.
They would rather want you to be in the dark and follow their medication and advice to the tee.
This would enable and empower the common man to be aware of what options and alternatives he can seek.
However, I think it would take a while to make all these reports available online.It's huge database and confidential too.
Second opinion is just a term for one more. If I am not convinced with one, I may not be convinced by the second or the third.
The fundamental point is, When is a patient not convinced with the prognosis? Only when the doctor did not tell you what you wanted to hear. And till you find a doctor who speaks your language, you shall keep looking for that "second opinion".
Enakshi:
IMHO a patient is not convinced of a prognosis when the doctor is not convincing enough. In my personal experience, I tend not to trust a prognosis if the doctor doesn't go over various things he checked, a couple of alternatives available to me, and finally his recommendation along with a reason for it. It might to too much to ask sometimes, but hey if he's getting paid for his time, he better do it. That said, if you're still unconvinced, you may shell out some more money and hear what other doctor has to say.
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