If such specialized training is necessary to become a physician, why do we think that a 10-minute web search will provide an answer to our medical problems? 
Posting about reliable sources of medical information from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.
http://inallthings.org/who-solves-your-most-urgent-medical-questions

Stoub, Darren

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Dordt College

Digital Collections @ DordtFaculty Work: Comprehensive List8-17-2016Who Solves Your Most Urgent MedicalQuestions?Darren StoubDordt College, darren.stoub@dordt.eduFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/faculty_workPart of the Medicine and Health Sciences CommonsThis Blog Post is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Collections @ Dordt. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Work:Comprehensive List by an authorized administrator of Digital Collections @ Dordt. For more information, please contact ingrid.mulder@dordt.edu.Recommended CitationStoub, Darren, "Who Solves Your Most Urgent Medical Questions?" (2016). Faculty Work: Comprehensive List. Paper 543.http://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/faculty_work/543Who Solves Your Most Urgent Medical Questions?Abstract"If such specialized training is necessary to become a physician, why do we think that a 10-minute web searchwill provide an answer to our medical problems?"Posting about reliable sources of medical information from In All Things - an online hub committed to theclaim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.http://inallthings.org/who-solves-your-most-urgent-medical-questions/KeywordsIn All Things, medicine, internet, science, information resourcesDisciplinesMedicine and Health SciencesCommentsIn All Things is a publication of the Andreas Center for Reformed Scholarship and Service at Dordt College.This blog post is available at Digital Collections @ Dordt: http://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/faculty_work/543August 17,2016Who Solves Your Most Urgent Medical Questions? inallthings.org /who-solves-your-most-urgent-medical-questions/Darren StoubIt was late night in the Emergency Department of Delnor Hospital in suburban Chicago. As we triaged anotherpatient, gathering vitals, listening intently to symptoms and trying to have compassion, we were struck that thesymptoms and complaints sounded remarkably similar to several other patients we had this evening. With a subtlesmirk on her face, the attending physician asked the patient if he had been watching any shows on TV lately.Interestingly or perhaps tellingly, the patient stated that he had been watching a medical documentary. I caught theeye of the physician and we set to treat this disorder: hypochondriasis.While hypochondria affects only three percent of medical patients, a more rampant problem is showing up inmedical clinics around the country: self-proclaimed, internet-trained physician-patients, also known ascyberchondriacs. Do you know the type of person? He has a few symptoms that have been nagging him for a while.He has seen some TV commercials promoting various prescription medications and has heard about several naturaltreatments from friends. He has visited various webpages including WebMD, Wikipedia, and other pages. He hasconvinced himself of the correct self-diagnosis. He visits the Emergency Department at the local hospital,emphatically telling his physician what’s wrong with him and demanding a particular test and/or treatment. If we arehonest, perhaps we all suffer from cyberchondriasis. We tell ourselves that we want to be an informed patient, sothat we can ask good questions of our physicians. There is good information available on the internet. Are we reallydoing something bad? Aren’t computers going to replace physicians soon anyways? I don’t have a mental disorder,do I?Probably not, but it may be a symptom of our societal lack of respect for the role of expertise in medicine. What isthe role of the physician in medicine? What is the role of the patient in determining and promoting his or her ownhealth? I discussed the importance of these questions with Dr. Paul Patrick, a physician at Rochester RegionalHealth System, and will summarize our discussions.The diagnosis of an illness is a team effort. Each member of the team brings a particular expertise and uniqueperspective, whether that be concerns of the patient, the subtle observations of a triage nurse, the skill of a medicallab technician, the honed interpretations of a radiologist, the nuanced experiences of a primary care physician, theconsultation of a specialist, the treatment by a physical therapist or the balanced wisdom of a pharmacist, to name afew. While many of these team members never directly interact with the patient and their participation is often notseen or consider by the patient, without the team work, a correct diagnosis and treatment plan would be impossible.How can our inexperienced use of the internet provide this kind of team effort?Each of these practitioners brings years of training and experience to bear when they work on helping a patient.Consider the education a physician completes. During the first four years of training as an undergraduate, studentslearn foundational topics in chemistry, biology, physics, psychology, mathematics, statistics, anthropology andeconomics, in addition to classes required for a major field of study and experiences related to the medical field.Academic performance, passion for medicine and professional demeanor are used to screen over 50,000 applicantsfor less than 20,000 seats in 141 U.S. medical schools. Once in medical school, students spend two years learningthe fields of biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, pharmacology, anatomy, physiology, pathology, immunology,microbiology, virology, pathophysiology, and behavioral science. The next two years of medical school are clinicalrotations, in which students are introduced to a variety of medical sub disciplines such as internal medicine, OB-GYN, family medicine, neurology, pediatrics, surgery and psychiatry. Even with all of this training, a student whograduates with a four-year medical degree is still not prepared enough or skilled enough to practice medicine. Theseeight years of training have provided a strong foundation in the science of medicine; however, it isn’t until a studentcompletes a medical residency program, which varies from three to eight years, that a medical student becomes a1/3board certified practicing physician. During the residency, a physician learns how to take knowledge andexperiences of the last eight years and apply it to direct patient care, to develop the necessary skills such as precisesurgical techniques or correct characterizations of heart palpitations using a stethoscope, and to nurture an instinctfor the art of medicine. If such specialized training is necessary to become a physician, why do we think that a 10-minute web search will provide an answer to our medical problems?Even with all of this training, an expert with experience is needed to differentiate between a vast number ofunderlying diseases that may cause a readily observable symptom. Take, for example, the symptom of high bloodpressure. Many diseases cause high blood pressure, such as obstructive sleep apnea, kidney problems, adrenalgland tumors, thyroid problems, congenital defects, certain medications, illegal drug use and alcohol use and abuse,anxiety and even no identifiable disorder. In addition, we are beginning to understand that our personal geneticsimpacts how and whether our bodies will respond to specific treatments for certain symptoms. Without a thoroughunderstanding of our age, medical history, genetics, symptomology and the plethora of various treatments, how dowe expect the internet to provide an answer to our medical woes?Beyond the challenges of practicing medicine, physicians have professional and legal responsibilities that theirexpertise confers. Within the medical field, Morbidity and Mortality conferences (M&Ms) provide a place where themedical community comes together as professionals to evaluate and improve medical care by learning “frommedical errors, complications, and unanticipated outcomes.”1 In addition to M&Ms, medical professionals areexamined and licensed by the Federation of State Medical Boards. Finally, Tort law represents a way by which stateand federal courts are able “to provide relief to injured parties for harms caused by others, to impose liability onparties responsible for the harm, and to deter others from committing harmful acts.”2 The professional and legalresponsibilities of a physician and all who work in the medical profession provide protection for the health ofpatients.Can we expect the same responsibility from a webpage or computer app? A recent report in the Journal of theAmerican Medical Society stated that “Reliance on these applications, which are not subject to regulatory oversight,in lieu of medical consultation, has the potential to delay the diagnosis of melanoma and to harm users.”3How important is expertise in medicine? If a physician has spent a bare minimum of 11 years in a formal medicaleducation program, works as a part of highly trained medical team, seeks the expertise of others who have moreexperience, makes decisions on highly complex information and is held responsible, both legally and professionally,for the life of a patient, then expertise is imperative in the field of medicine.So where does that leave us as patients? What is our role in our health? Should we use the internet at all?Absolutely, but here are several tips for how to be an active participant in your own health.Make an appointment with your doctor. If there are symptoms that are starting to concern you, anappointment with your own physician is the best place to start. The medical team will be able to helpyou understand your symptoms, identify new ones, diagnose your disorder, explain the prognosis andsuggest a treatment plan. If you are uncertain about your doctor’s recommendations, schedule anappointment with another physician to get a second opinion. If you involve your primary care medicalteam in this process, they will be more than willing to help you find another team with whom you canconsult.Ask your doctor questions about your diagnosis and prognosis. Become an active participant inyour medical treatment. If there are terms you didn’t catch or basic medical topics you didn’tunderstand, ask your physician for clarification. As an expert in a field, we often get comfortable withour particular way of understanding and communicating information, and this can often mean that ourwords are not accessible to patients and other lay audiences. By asking questions, you will breakdown the semantical barrier and begin to establish effective communication with your medical team.2/3Learn as much as you can about your disorder. As an active participant in your own treatment, it isimperative that you learn as much as you can about your disorder, your symptoms and your treatment.You should understand your disorder well enough that you can effectively explain it to both a familymember and a medical professional. This will take time, the understanding of good information, andthe asking of many questions. Perhaps you could ask your physician where you might be able to findadditional information about your disorder.Find credible information on the internet. The internet can be an excellent source of information,but it is also full of conflicting information. Good sources of information are often hosted on sitesending with .gov or .edu. MedLinePlus (medlineplus.gov) is a reputable and lay-person accessiblesource of medical information. According to their webpage, MedlinePlus is “produced by the NationalLibrary of Medicine, [is] the world’s largest medical library, [and] brings you information aboutdiseases, conditions, and wellness issues in language you can understand. MedlinePlus offersreliable, up-to-date health information, anytime, anywhere, for free.” If you are using google to searchfor information, a general rule of thumb is to read at least ten different sources of information and usingthe provided information to construct a summative understanding of the disorder or treatment. Fortopics that have sources providing conflicting information, compose a series of questions that you candiscuss with your physician.Avoid information from most webpages and TV commercials. Many webpages, with or without a.com identifier, and most TV commercials are marketing tools for a particular product or company.While some information can be gleaned from these sources, be sure to validate the providedinformation from other sources. Besides providing biased information, these sources of informationare trying to sell you something and, therefore, should probably not be trusted.Talk with many people about your situation. Cyberchondria affects us all and to various degrees.The internet and personal isolation exasperates its control on our decisions and thoughts. By talkingwith friends, colleagues and experts, we, as patients, will be able to determine the correct path tohealth.By partnering with an expert medical team, becoming an active participant in our own treatment, learning as muchreputable information as possible, and by asking a lot of questions, we can seek to live a healthy life.3/3

Who Solves Your Most Urgent Medical Questions?

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Who Solves Your Most Urgent Medical Questions?

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