Is Telemedicine closing the gap on Misdiagnosis?
In modern times, we are all hungry for information. It seems that the more access we have to information, the more of it we want.
Nowhere is this more pertinent, than when we become ill.
For over two centuries, the Doctors in society have been our go to person for explaining why we feel ill, and what can be done to change that.
For doctors, the role to becoming qualified to diagnose takes between 10–15 years. For this reason, it is reasonable to expect them to have a higher accuracy rate than most of their patients.
Yet with the explosion of online information in the past 20 years, it is impossible for any doctor to have the reach of the Internet when it comes to potential diagnosis.
Thus, along with the growth of the world-wide-web came a new trend: the self-diagnosing patient.
The self-diagnosing patient is characterized by their reliance on online medical symptom-checker websites and medical advice forums.
A study by Pew Research in 2013 revealed that one in three people use the Internet as their first source for health information.
The good news is that the quality of medical information sources has been steadily increasing in quality. Services such as WebMD and MayoClinic are proving to be valuable resources for patients who choose the self-diagnosis route.
It seems that today, the self-diagnosing patient is becoming the norm in doctor offices.
However, while online diagnosis is growing, there is still risk of misinformation and misdiagnosis.
According to Dr David Troxel, ‘As a caregiver, it’s safe to assume that patients will come into the office already attached to a perceived diagnosis and possibly using medications improperly, based on their own online research.’
The Pew Research study also revealed that while 41% of patients doing online diagnosis had it confirmed by a medical professional, another 35% did not visit a clinician to get their initial diagnosis confirmed.
A large reason why patients may avoid getting clinical confirmation is either the time constraint or the cost.
This is where the adoption of Telemedicine by doctors potentially plays a role in bridging the gap.
As American Telemedicine Association CEO Jonathan Linkous stated recently: “Change is coming with lowered costs of telecommunications, increased interest by physicians and consumers alike and the discovery that such innovation can not only deliver health care to more people, but also do it in ways that save money and improve the quality of care.”
The use of virtual video visits, or text conversations between doctors and patients is on the increase, and it may be the solution to reducing misdiagnosis.
Consulting with a doctor via a virtual call or text and email is a logical next step after doing online research, before going to a doctors office.
It can assist a patient in confirming an initial self-diagnosis, by allowing the doctor to use their clinical expertise to the patients’ advantage. Doctors may advise patients to either seek a specific type of over the counter solution, or they may advise the patient to visit the office for further diagnosis.
Telemedicine is a bridging tool to be able to offer patients a more reliable source of qualified diagnosis, and to decrease the risk of virtual misdiagnosis.
