Thursday, July 28, 2005
File under "Yathink?": An editorial suggests that cost is why people self-diagnose over the internet
"However, there is a reason why the cyber doctor may be getting such a foothold in our society - cost.
While an accident which puts a victim into the emergency department followed by six months recovering in a ward is all courtesy of the taxpayer, a one-minute visit to a GP to have him give a few reassuring words about a funny looking mole or a worrying lump results in a $40 bill.
There are issues with online consultations and self-diagnosis, but it is wrong to blame the internet; the problem lies with how our health system is funded and the distortion caused by the fact that some services are charged for while other, much more expensive ones, are completely free."
"However, there is a reason why the cyber doctor may be getting such a foothold in our society - cost.
While an accident which puts a victim into the emergency department followed by six months recovering in a ward is all courtesy of the taxpayer, a one-minute visit to a GP to have him give a few reassuring words about a funny looking mole or a worrying lump results in a $40 bill.
There are issues with online consultations and self-diagnosis, but it is wrong to blame the internet; the problem lies with how our health system is funded and the distortion caused by the fact that some services are charged for while other, much more expensive ones, are completely free."
Posted by Kevin |
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Comments:
The emergency room visit and six month stay is not free. The patient is charged the bill and if he/she does not have insurance, they are still responsible for paying for it. They make the choice to make small payments, or let it go into default. The tax-payer doesn't pick up that bill, but supplies aid in the form of medicaid and funds for public assistance. Perhaps we should make it more obvious to people that they are responsible for their medical care. (including the above author)
# posted by 
: 2:20 PM
: 2:20 PM
Drs, being a patient is not all about money. All we patients want is someone to listen to us, communicate with us and send us away with some sense of how to deal with whatever is going on with our bodies. We are the only ones monitoring ourselves every minute of every day, and yet we get few if any indicators of what to look out for. Everytime I leave a doctor's office I have to ask, "What should I watch out for? What has to happen before you want to see me again?" You'd THINK, wouldn't you, that a dr would send you away with at least as much as your mechanic: "If the clank doesn't go away, call me." But no, that's for the most part not what we get. Diagnoses are made too often in silence without any communication about what is going on within our bodies. Lack of understanding leads to frightened and unsure patients more likely both to come back too soon ANd to fail to comprehend a turn for the worse. What defense do we have? Self education. Where? In the old days, the Merck Manual. Now, the internet. If you're going to sneer at people for coming to the hospital with chest pains, then stop the public service announcements that we should do so. Do you know what kind of courage it takes to go to an ER with chest pains, admitting to yourself and to your family that you might be seriously ill? Then to be scoffed at! Unbelievable.
So back to the question at hand: why do people self-diagnose on the internet? Because it's there. Because it answers our questions, however imperfectly. It never sneers at us. It never resents us for being ill. And none of that has to do with not wanting to pay you your lousy co-pay.
So back to the question at hand: why do people self-diagnose on the internet? Because it's there. Because it answers our questions, however imperfectly. It never sneers at us. It never resents us for being ill. And none of that has to do with not wanting to pay you your lousy co-pay.
# posted by : 9:06 PM
: 9:06 PM
Anonymous:
If this is your consistent experience with doctors, shame on them - and shame on you. Find a new one.
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If this is your consistent experience with doctors, shame on them - and shame on you. Find a new one.
