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How The Internet Is Improving The Doctor Patient Relationship PART 2: "The Internet Doctor" by Kelly Shanahan, MD
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March 4, 1998
Hello OBGYN.netters,
Here is the second part of our two part Patient/Physician perspective on How The Internet Is Improving The Doctor Patient Relationship. This week from OBGYN.net California Representative, Women's Healh Advisor and all around great person and doctor, Kelly Shanahan, MD. If you missed it last week don't forget to read Part I, our patient's perspective, from OBGYN.netter, Endo Sufferer, Soon To Be New Mommy, and my Cyberfriend, Heather Guidone.
The Internet is right up there with the discovery of penicillin in terms of revolutionizing medical practice and enhancing patient care. Instead of being isolated by distance or geography, doctors in every corner of the world (assuming electricity and a phone line!)can access the same cutting edge information that previously was limited to those in academic institutions or large cities. It is medical school and residency "Grand Rounds" -- an opportunity to learn new things and interact with the experts in every field. Instead of relying soley on our own experience, we can contact colleagues throughout the world and garner the experience of hundreds -- if two heads are better than one, then how much better is fifty or a hundred heads in solving a difficult problem?
I have found this aspect of the Internet invaluable since I moved to Lake Tahoe from Philadelphia 4 years ago. No longer do I have the luxury of several medical school libraries within a 20 minute drive, or the availability of experts in infertility, high risk obstetrics and gyn cancer right down the hall; I live in a town of 25,000 permanent residents, 6300 feet in the air and currently with multiple feet of snow on the ground -- sometimes getting out of the driveway is a chore, much less driving 100 miles to the nearest med school library. With the Internet I can search Medline for articles, access the PDR for drug interactions, contact colleagues all over the world for their opinions -- all from the comfort of my own home and office. I believe I am a better educated and more effective physician now than I was before I got on-line; I learn something new every time I log on.
The fact that patients are also logging on has also changed medicine for the better. Patients can access information about their conditions with the click of a mouse. They come to the office better prepared and asking intelligent questions. They are much less passive and much more willing to be active participants in their care. This teamwork between doctor and patient enhances treatment; because the patient knows more about her condition, she often provides more complete information, instead of not mentioning something because she "didn't think it was important, doc". She may be more compliant with a treatment plan that she had part in shaping.
I often refer my patients to the Internet to gather more information for themselves. I will suggest that they log-on to the Women's Health Forum and post a question, stating that they will get one opinion from me, but may get several others from doctors and other women experiencing the same thing. On-line support groups are especially valuable in a small community where there may not be many people with infertility or endometriosis or cancer. Also an advantage in as small a community as Tahoe, is the anonimity of the Internet -- if you have a question about herpes and want to discuss it with other women suffering the same thing, but you don't want it all over town, well, just log-on!
It is important to remember, however, that as wonderful as "Internet medicine" is, it is not a substitute for hands on, face-to-face care between a real live doctor and a real live patient. Reading about a new technique on the Internet is not the same as apprenticing with a master. The Internet is another tool for patient and physician; tools wielded properly can build magnificent things, but used improperly, can destroy.
If you have any interesting news, ideas, or questions you would like to share please drop me a line at roberta.speyer@obgyn.net.3/4/98
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