Informed' patients shake faith in docs; online medical info blamed for trouble
Hyderabad: Fifty-three per cent of young doctors aged between 25 to 34 years feel that technology is taking away their ability to convince patients about the diagnosis and advised treatment thereafter.
In a recent survey conducted with over 2,000 doctors globally, it has been found that doctors feel that their clinical evaluation has little meaning for patients and their relatives who now obtain all the information they want from the net and question the doctor on every count. Doctors find themselves at crossroads with technology and inept analysis of the information, beating them to it.
In the survey, 82 per cent doctors stated that the intensive questioning by patients and their families often led them to doubt their own knowledge and this has led to both frustration and confusion. Doctors across all hospitals in the city stated that on a daily basis they see one or two patients like these and on weekends the numbers are as high as 5.
Dr Ravi Suman Reddy, senior neurosurgeon and spine specialist explained, “In practice we find that patients or their relatives ask too many questions and this often make us opt for defensive practice. For instance, if we diagnose a disease and they say that they have read online that it could be something else too, we ask them to conduct a few more tests so that their doubts are satisfied. There has definitely been a dent on the trust factor between the doctor and the patient. It is not just the questions but also their gained knowledge from the internet which sometimes create confusion. There is nothing wrong in reading up about diseases but it must be understood that analysis by doctors is based on clinical practice and bedside experience which is the real asset than the knowledge on internet.”
The most irritated ones are junior doctors and young practitioners who are finding it difficult to cope with these changes. In the survey, it was found that doctors who were in their 30s were having self-doubts about whether they were really capable of taking care of their patients.
Dr Ajith Vikram, urologist explained, “It is very frustrating for young doctors because we are carrying out diagnosis according to what we have learnt in college. Hence there is a pattern that has been established and it has proved to be scientifically correct. But with these patients we end up spending too much of time convincing them of their disease. In that time, we could see at least two more patients. What people need to understand is that all aspects of medical knowledge have not been put up on the internet and they have to trust their doctor.”
Dr Neeraj Raj who is developing virtual tools for medical education in the city explained, “It is not only junior doctors but even the well-read and experienced doctors who are finding it difficult to cope with the knowledge on internet. While the research papers and recommendations that are uploaded online are based on development in medical education, bringing it into practice requires guidelines. Hence there is a lot of hypothesis which is believed to be true and that is causing a lot of frustration. What patients need to understand it that doctors are bringing their clinical and bedside experience in diagnosing a disease while the modern tools of technology are helping them find the exact cause for it.”
While specialists know more about their subject, they would definitely not know much about other subjects. Opting for a general physician for regular health issues is important to get an overall picture and opting for a specialist only when required is something that a patient has to realise. While technology is a boon as far as diagnosis is concerned the disease specific information available online is often based on unscientific reports and when confronted with it by the patient, it is confusing for even the most experienced of doctors.
