Will the doctor answer your e-mail?
Will the doctor answer your e-mail?
By Kevin Pho, Special to CNN
June 7, 2010
"I read all about my condition on the Internet," a recent patient proudly told me. Like other doctors, I'm seeing more patients research their symptoms thoroughly before setting foot in the exam room.
Patients are using the Web in unprecedented ways for their own health empowerment. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 61 percent of American adults looked online for health information in 2009, up from 46 percent in 2000.
These "e-patients" are an essential part of the health care team, and play an increasingly influential role in the shared decision making process with their physicians.
Health technology commentator Esther Dyson observed in the Journal of Participatory Medicine that "the amount of medical knowledge is beyond the reach of any one person," and, "because clinicians are overwhelmed ... a huge amount of responsibility is devolving to individuals." But she also noted that e-patients encounter physicians "who are often hostile to their efforts."
Indeed, not every physician is enamored with the e-patient. In a TIME opinion piece, orthopedic surgeon Scott Haig called a patient who Googled her own health information a "brainsucker." And, frustrated with the time needed to engage e-patients, he wondered, "if there [were] patients like this in poor, war-torn countries where the need for doctors is more dire."
Most doctors, however, want their patients to be conscientious about their health and informed about their diseases. In a recent survey, health marketing firm Manhattan Research found that virtually all doctors had patients who searched for health information online, and more than two-thirds of physicians found this to be a positive trend.
Given that the majority of doctors support those who take a pro-active stance with their health, why would some patients perceive physicians as hostile to their empowerment?
Simply put, our health system does not promote the communication necessary for physicians to engage e-patients.