The Alzheimer's Digest: Should Doctors Google Their Patients?

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Should Doctors Google Their Patients?

Dr. Hairder Javed Warraich wrote an article in the New York Times about
Googling a patient, which raises the question: Should doctors Google their
patients?

Some argue YES, others, NO.

I was going to muse upon the pros and cons when Dr. Richard Taylor, who
lives with dementia, sent me a link via Google+ to the Dementia Alliance
International website where I found the following powerful video listed on
the blog page.

Pause for five minutes to watch this video. Afterwards, please finish
reading the musings then tell us: What do you think?

Click on the text link or the video below: If we could see inside others
hearts.

YES.

When you consider the brief amount of time we spend in a doctors office,
more is left unsaid than said. Unless you write notes to refer to during
your appointment, hours after you see your doctor, youll realize: Oh, I
should have asked _____!

If your life is such that it piques your doctors curiosity to search you
online, how fortunate you are. Your doctor may glean a detail you may have
overlooked or thought inconsequential.
NO.

There are those who argue about privacy rights.

To which I ask, what privacy is there when people bare their lives online
via Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, and even LinkedIn?

Better your doctor to learn about you than a criminal, right?

Sometimes, people (want to) forget pieces of their past that could provide
useful information to help doctors better understand why they are
experiencing symptoms many years later.
CAVEAT. Need Honesty.

Because the Internet is fraught with both fact and fiction and both are
inseparably intertwined, its best for the doctor to use the search results
as a foundation to learn more about you while jogging your memory about the
past.

While your doctor says, I was curious about your symptoms and wanted to
learn more about you. I see, several years ago you ______, can you tell me
more?

You might respond, Uh, ohhh, that was an embarrassing time I tried to forget

After all, arent we saying that medicine should treat the whole person?
What do you think?

Would you be pleased to learn your doctor has reached beyond the office to
learn more about you?

Do you feel all of this is a bit creepy and see the need for boundaries?

For more information click on:
Should doctors Google their patients?

http://thecaregiversvoice.com/avadian-musings/should-doctors-google-their-patien ts/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=should-doctors-google-their-patie nts