However, it is barely possible to find the appropriate material during the eight minute session due to the glut of irrelevant information most search engines produce. If GPs are to retain control over the patient consultation they need to find a far more effective, reliable source of online medical information, argue Dr. Lisa Silver and Dr. Louise Newson, Searchmedica.co.uk.
Online Addiction
The global implications of online medical information and pharmacies have recently been recognised in a report by the United Nations which blames the epidemic of prescription drug addiction on the rise of Internet pharmacies. The study warns that easy access to powerful sleeping pills, antidepressants and painkillers is leading to heart attacks, blindness and even deaths.
The Internet effect is being seen in GP surgeries up and down the country. Irrespective of age or class, people across the UK are actively searching out medical information online.
The problem is, as any GP can attest, the quality of Internet based information varies widely with many unregulated sites, especially from the US. Put a vague list of symptoms into a Google search and an individual can be led down a myriad of irrelevant paths, made worse by the propensity for top search results to have paid for that position.
The result is often a self-misdiagnosis - typically of a condition far more serious than the actual one. Thus even if the patient ends up at a good, well regulated site, the information is not relevant because the self-diagnosis has been incorrect.
Self-Selecting
Patients self-selecting information is nothing new; it happens during the majority of face to face consultations. Every GP has experienced the overweight patient refusing to listen to the lifestyle advice, preferring to blame symptoms on diabetes or some other 'treatable' problem.
However, the extraordinary power and omnipresence of the Internet is making this problem far, far worse, reinforcing existing trends in patient behaviour. On the one hand, many of the 60-70% of patients using the Internet for information actually require additional consultations to allay their fears, discuss alternative treatments and need referral for a specialist opinion.
Many patients are being actively encouraged to purchase prescription drugs online that, at best, are far more expensive than the prescription cost and, at worst, could result is significant damage.
Take the young, overweight patient who had decided to purchase any anti-obesity drug online. Not only was she not overweight enough to take the drug she had chosen (she was happily prepared to lie and there was obviously no way of verifying her weight online) but the drug demands constant monitoring of patient blood pressure and pulse rate when first prescribed. That simply cannot be done remotely.
Furthermore, the alternative drug she was considering purchasing from the internet cannot be taken with anti-depressants - which she was also taking. Without a complete medical history, prescribing any drug is high risk, and yet it is becoming commonplace to make such prescriptions online.
Online Benefits
The proliferation of medical information is, in many ways, a good thing. Any information that can help patients to make the right decisions about their health and enable them to take control over their welfare is to be applauded. But as the inexorable increase in patient's reliance upon the Internet grows, GPs have got to reassume control and find a way to direct patients towards accurate, trusted information.
It certainly should not be thought that the internet is solely a danger or a hindrance to the medical profession.
There have been occasions where use of the internet has been actively encouraged by doctors due to the substantial amounts of information available. In situations where there are longer waiting lists than can be comfortably dealt with by the primary care system, an initial referral simply to a reliable and authoritative website can filter out those that simply need information from those who actually require a consultation or even treatment.
This procedure has been employed in the area of depression and anxiety, two of the most common conditions seen by the GP community. A self-help programme includes a variety of websites that offer advice, support and treatment strategies, designed for patients with all ranges of prior knowledge. As such, the internet has been of great help to primary carers. The internet is not an absolute disaster area, more a minefield that requires a careful and guided route through.
Furthermore, as is being seen in a handful of surgeries, personal email-based consultations are being performed. The crucial aspect here is that the GP already knows the patient, has access to his/her notes and is aware of the patient's background. As a result, time is saved as 'routine' enquiries such as prescription renewal or general drug enquiries for example, can be dealt with whenever is convenient for the GP, allowing surgery times to remain devoted to occasions that do require time face-to-face.
Nonetheless, this may be the future of GP surgeries. Individual timings for surgeries may as a result be increased as fewer timeslots are necessary. Time has always been a factor for GPs, especially with the advent of QOF, and until now, there has been a remarkable reluctance or even suspicion of using technology to help. Surgeries are businesses, and few businesses in any sectors could survive without email.
However, this new approach is only effective if a GP can guarantee fast access to relevant information. There's no point offering a fast, reactive service if it cannot be supported by similarly speedy access to information. Opting for Google or another horizontal search engine not only looks unprofessional but will produce thousands of irrelevant results.
The alternative is to use a vertical search engine that rates results based on relevance rather than popularity and avoids results being affected by paid-for position. Using this approach, information can be rapidly located for the patient with full confidence in the validity of the results and accuracy of advice.
Taking this approach GPs can empower the patient, ensure confidence in the diagnosis and information provided and, critically, cut down on unnecessary repeat visits by helping each patient to successfully manage their health decisions.
Regain Control
As patients increasingly gain confidence in their own medical knowledge - and use the language of the Internet to demonstrate that independently gained knowledge, there is a growing challenge to the GP diagnosis. Indeed, the dynamics of the consultation is being changed as a result of patient's growing medical knowledge base.
The internet is dangerous, and has the potential to be fatal, if used improperly. Patients having access to information is not the same as being able to use it correctly. GPs need to be aware of the dangers the internet can pose, whilst also embracing the ways in which it can streamline processes, and deliver safe information to patients.
It is however a two-stage process. GPs need to be shown that the internet can be trusted as a source of information. Using a vertical search engine that rapidly delivers accurate, relevant information during a consultation provides the patient with the required online information, whilst ensuring the trust and confidence in the GP is sustained. Only once this behaviour is engrained and faith in the internet's abilities is engendered, will use of the internet become more widespread in GP surgeries, and the benefits be seen.
http://www.searchmedica.co.uk
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