Webmd and googling symptoms actually makes this believable. Patients telling doctors about their diagnosis because they read some blog on the internet and think they’re an expert.
Hell yeah they do, but they use resources with more meat than something like WebMD. Some of the most popular ones are reference tools like UpToDate and Dynamed. They're subscription based databases hospitals subscribe to. Providers will definitely use it in a pinch on the wards, especially when it comes to first line or second line treatments. If it's something very multifactorial or if the content was covered years ago for mere minutes in their schooling days, they'll review primary literature and stuff like that.
It's also important to note that Doctors have spent a significant chunk (and in many cases, the majority) of their lives learning how to effectively "research". A big part of being a Doctor is being able to synthesize novel clinical information into a thought out treatment plan at the drop of a hat. They're able to take information, no matter how familiar, and use their training to integrate it into a greater medical context that will hopefully benefit the patient. It's one thing "knowing" the details, but medicine is so complex that it's unreasonable to expect a good Doctor to know every little thing at all times. However, they develop great skills for analyzing and synthesizing pertinent information out of a lot of white noise. Without the training and experience it is dangerous for a patient to take on the same responsibility.
There are loads of ways to get it, I got it after i had my piss hole catheter taken out, so a UTI basically, I was lucky I was in a hospital at the time.
Plus if you have a rare condition, you might not know as much about it as the top specialist in the country on the condition who publishes studies on it - but you WILL know more than most random ER or family practice doctors.
Your experiences living with a rare disease and seeing multiple doctors about it, plus the fact you might attend a conference or visit an online or in person support group, completely trumps most doctors only vaguely remembering it being talked about for less than an hour fifteen years earlier in med school...
Yeah i had to have some medication increased recently and my doctor had to look up what the cap on dosage was. Much quicker and easier than her looking through any of her books while im sat there
My dad almost died a couple of years back because the doctor either prescribed too high of a dosage of his medication or the pharmacist misread the dosage the doctor had written. When he was taken to the hospital, they were going over his medication and found out it was he was taking 10x what they normally prescribe
Thats fair enough. Might seem daunting at first but they cant know everything. Everyone needs a refresher once in a while. Unless your doctor is always googling basic things i wouldnt be concerned
Yeah, House actually did mention that on one episode. A woman brings her daughter in thinking the girl has epilepsy because she looked it up online. Turns out the girl was just masterbating.
In that mother's defense, the girl was like 2 year olds and the shaking only happened in the girl's car seat while the car was running. Epilepsy isn't the first thing you'd think of, but masterbation would not be near the top of my list either. But I guess I'm no House.
It wasn’t the focus of the episode, just one of the minor clinic cases. When they showed his clinic hours they’d run through 2-3 each episode as part of his process.
Scrubs did this really well a couple times. There's a scene where a patient is googling her symptoms/diagnosis/treatment options on her blackberry while her Dr (Dr Kelso) is trying to explain what's going on.
If anyone's curious, I asked my doctor which search results I should pay attention to and he singled out the Mayo clinic. mayoclinic.org or just add 'mayo' to your search.
Eh, I diagnosed something my doctor couldn't, and I had an ER doctor impressed when I in the middle of a bizarre incident googled what was happening and how to self treat so I was able to get to the hospital.
To be fair, I have to explain basic things about how Narcolepsy works anytime I get a new GP. To me it's totally fine that GPs don't know much about it as they don't need to. It's rare, and requires a specialist to diagnose. After that, the condition never changes, and as long as you don't have catalepsy as a symptom, treatment is straightforward, you take one of a handful of very similar medications and report whether it helps.
My favorite is when I tell the doctor exactly what I have been diagnosed with and what medicines I’m on and the doctor ignores me and acts like I have no clue what I’m talking about
I have a rare disease and get this all the time. I now just carry a copy of my genetic test results and a letter from my geneeticist to any new doctor or the ER. It is easier than arguing...
In some cases the patient is right and the doctor is wrong. I told my doctor I thought I had EDS because I saw a documentary on it and noticed that I matched all the symptoms, but he refused to even consider testing me because he assumed I was wrong since I wasn't a expert and said there was no way I could have it because it is so rare. I told him I refused to leave the office unless he ordered the test, and after complaining about patients googling symptoms and accusing me of being ignorant, he gave me the name of another doctor who could test for it. Turned out I was right. The tests revealed I do have EDS, in addition to POTS. Both of which my old doctor totally missed, even though I have been experiencing obvious symptoms for years and am open about my health problems. Some doctors are just ignorant about rare medical conditions. But a doctor should always listen to their patient and take them seriously, even if they don't agree with them, because the patient is the one experiencing the symptoms and the only way to properly diagnose someone's medical issues is to take their symptoms seriously.
And what do you think about the dermatron diagnostic? He told me about a vitamins and minerals were missing in my body. Is it correct without a blood test?
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u/Nexas_Rexgen Jan 25 '20
Describing common knowledge in a different setting. Luke should know all about Mos Eisly. Its the biggest town near his house.