I suppose doctors today deal with the 'challenge' of informed patients in a way their peers from the past would be unable to relate to. If I feel sick or hurt, I don't stumble down to the doctor's office for a consult - I go straight to the internet and lookup my symptoms. Here’s something I couldn’t have said to a doctor in 1995:
Hey doc, ‘ow ah ya? My foot hurt and I either sprained it or have chronic depression. Oh, and can we run a blood test on it, just in case I have metacarpal cancer? Say what? Oh, right, metatarsal, sure, but can we check that, ya know, since my friend on the internet said...It’s a stunner WebMD doesn’t give out referrals, honestly.
I suspect doctors are not too thrilled about patients coming in after self-diagnosing themselves with three terminal illnesses after misreading the symptoms of a shellfish allergy. But it might just be the growing pains needed to achieve a healthier future. A lot of debilitating conditions are chronic and their effects can be better controlled if caught early on in life. A population able to convince itself of the need to go see the doctor – even if it is based on a false self-diagnosis at whoknowswhat.com – is probably going to be healthier than one where people are used to saying... ah... this weird bumpy thing... it’s probably nothing… a pint of red wine should take care of it...
