Comments on: Communicating with your doctor http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/09/communicating-with-your-doctor.html Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:00:00 +0000 hourly 1 By: Anonymoushttp://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/09/communicating-with-your-doctor.html#comment-87451 Anonymous Sun, 28 Sep 2008 18:26:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2008/09/communicating-with-your-doctor.html#comment-87451 I'd be willing to bet most of us laypeople with computers look up our symptoms on the internet. Gotta do something while waiting for the appointment, and if you're prone to anxiety, the first thing you're going to do is surf for possible diseases.<br/><br/>The problem is with those who naïvely and narcissistically believe reading a couple of over-simplified medical articles, often of questionable origin, without benefit of medical training, experience or context, makes them just as competent at diagnosis as their doctors. Not so.<br/><br/>I always tell my doc, "I read about such and such on the internet (at which point she cringes)," then defer to her on diagnosis and treatment. I’d be willing to bet most of us laypeople with computers look up our symptoms on the internet. Gotta do something while waiting for the appointment, and if you’re prone to anxiety, the first thing you’re going to do is surf for possible diseases.

The problem is with those who naïvely and narcissistically believe reading a couple of over-simplified medical articles, often of questionable origin, without benefit of medical training, experience or context, makes them just as competent at diagnosis as their doctors. Not so.

I always tell my doc, “I read about such and such on the internet (at which point she cringes),” then defer to her on diagnosis and treatment.

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