“Bob Wachter says it may not be a big deal. “Even if we could create a new generation of expert physical examiners,” he writes, “would it be worth the time and trouble?” He doubts it, saying the time spent to learn and perform a comprehensive exam.”

I totally agree. Now, PET/CT Scans and MRI tests can greatly assist a physician in making a complex diagnosis. However, for more obvious conditions, doctors should rely on more on communication skills rather than the typical physical exam. The same 50 years old tools are still used for the physical exam. It is time for change.

Instead, physicians should to listen to patients, make the right deduction from the medical history and the actual condition and discuss alternative treatments. This is what Dr Wachter thinks. For having lived with physicians more than 27 years, I totally agree with him. In addition, I think that doctors should listen more and give to him the room to express his medical condition, discuss it in details and stop leading to conclusions too fast.

This evolution is a huge opportunity for telemedicine.As medical practice will be evolving towards communication skills as a measure of the quality of a consultation rather than physical examination, consumers will be more inclined to use remote consultations  as physical presence won’t be viewed necessary anymore.

A link to the orignial article.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 at 12:15 am and is filed under Telemedicine, consultation, web 2.0, world.