An article that turns the idea of medical opinions on its ear -- first opinions, second opinions and sometimes more - crossed my email. I share it with you, because I'm curious if you agree. I have a feeling that most, if not all of you, will concur wholeheartedly.
Penned (or is that keyboarded) by Lisa Gualtieri, PhD, a health communications professor at Tufts University, it suggests that many patients have turned opinion-seeking behavior upside down. We no longer seek a first opinion, then a second opinion from a physician. No -- now we seek a first opinion from the Internet -- then a second opinion from our physician. If we look for another physician opinion, it may be the third opinion we get.
Dr. Gualtieri also explores the fact that most of us don't own up to that fact to our physicians. Further, that physicians don't ask either. She provides some explanations for the lack of inquiry by the doctor -- not enough time, no training to do so, and so forth. But she also reveals why we patients don't tell our doctors. We are afraid we can't pronounce some of the more difficult words, or feel that we are being disrespectful.
There is much more to this article, which you can read here: The Doctor as the Second Opinion, and the Internet as the First.
But I'm curious. Is this how YOU access the medical information you need? When you experience symptoms do you make a bee line for the phone to make a doctor's appointment? Or do you sit down at your computer, do some Internet research first, then make your own diagnosis or assessment before you call your doctor?
Then - if you do scope out possibilities on the Internet, do you tell your doctor?
Let's see if our About.com Patient Empowerment family reflects Dr. Gualtieri's thoughts. Take this poll and let us know.
Then, if you need some help owning up, learn how to approach your doctor with what you have learned on the Internet.
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Being a nurse, I use the knowledge that I already have and look up more information, and then, if I am concerned, I will consult with my doctor. I do use reputable sources when researching information — CDC, American Lung, NHLBI, About.com – you get the picture. I NEVER rely on just any website out there that may not know what they are talking about.
What a fascinating topic — and what fascinating poll results! I don’t check my symptoms on Wikipedia
, but I do check on reputables sites and find that most of the time, it’s a calming thing. What I was convinced was a VENOMOUS SPIDER bite that was gonna kill me, was merely a little spider bite that could be disinfected, iced and pretty much ignored — and thank you, About.com health guides, for your fine photo gallery of spider bites. Those are some pretty horrific pics!
I couldn’t vote in the poll because the word “always” was in every choice. I have done every one of the choices, depending on the severity of the symptoms, whether it was a “new” problem or old problem, and which doctor. A couple of my doctors I can tell, most I can’t. Actually, this is one of my biggest pet peeves: Experts in various media telling us to “talk to your doctor” about something. Well, it is very rare to find a doctor who will take the time to “talk” to you about anything, let alone what you have found on the internet. And by internet I mean reputable websites. Actually, most doctors react the same way when we patients bring in (or mention) something we have seen in a magazine or heard about on radio/TV. I have brought material into a doctor only to have him/her leave the room after the exam and never take the article.
Doctors have a prescribe amount of time they will stay with any of their patients (probably on the advice of their accountants) and there isn’t enough time in that 7.5 min for me to ask their advice on what I have found. Now, if one was to take a survey of most doctors, asking them if they would welcome a patient bringing in internet material, I’m sure 99% would say they were okay with that. It’s just that the reality is the opposite.
I always seek information on the Internet first. Often it helps me narrow the scope of my questions to my doctor and instead of her having to explain the basics to me, we can move right on into more technical detail.
It helps that I have a little bit of health-care related background and am able to exercise some judgment on what to believe on the Internet.
I do have some apprehension that certain doctors will be offended by my Internet research but the doctors I have good rapport with don’t seem to mind.
I wonder, given the state of our economy and the troubles — still — with access to affordable health care, if the internet has become THE “doctor” for some patients.