The other day, I had a sore throat. The last time I went to the doctor with a sore throat, they peered down it and said I was fine. This isn’t the first time a doctor has told me I was fine, when I was sure I had a malicious bug – maybe I’m a hypochondriac.
Another route I like to follow when I feel a bump in the wrong place or have a phantom pain is the web. There is instant gratification in self-diagnosis using a symptom checker. This is much quicker than making an appointment, taking time off work, and traveling to the doc’s (besides, the symptoms have usually subsided by then anyway).
WebMD is one I like because of the cool interface – touch a part of the body that hurts, and describe the symptom:
I found out, though, that this is not the most effective website. This is an article where several symptom checkers are reviewed. Looks like WrongDiagnosis.com is the winner.
http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/Home/News.asp?id=52025&PageMem=2
There are stories about hypochondriacs over-hyping their symptoms (“why aren’t we going to rule out ovarian cancer, are you sure its just a UTI?”), and there are stories about people who under-diagnose themselves, and end up having awful infections that could have been avoided had they just gone to the doctor.
There are also those who, after receiving a diagnosis from a doctor, surf the web incessantly, trying to find alternative cures their doc didn’t mention.
For these reasons, many doctors loudly proclaim that the Internet should not be a place people go to for their own health care.
Docs also don’t want patients posting reviews on their medical care online. Just like Yelp!, sites that allow patients to write public comments about doctors end up with libel issues. There are even doctors that are beginning to ask patients to sign a waiver, stating that they will not post reviews online without the doc’s permission. More in this NPR story: http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=102297861&m=102297852
Bottom line – I will keep surfing online for medical advice. I know that I am on the hypochondriac side, so I won’t under-diagnose myself. Also, I trust my doctor, so if she isn’t worried about a symptom, I won’t be worried either. On that note, the only thing most patients can review about a doctor is their bedside manner – that trust factor. Unless someone has received a second opinion from another doctor, or has attended medical school themselves, people should not make claims against a doc’s ability as a scientist and healer.
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