As described in previous posts, Internet users, due to time constraints, convenience, availability and proximity are tempted to practice auto-diagnosis based on the information found in search engines or general medical websites like WebMD or Doctissimo. And here lies the problem, as the average healthcare consumer is more likely to make mistakes in the diagnosis, due to his lack of medical expertise. This can lead consumers to think the worst, for instance diagnosing an appendicite or a chronic sleep disorder. Online health information services should be considered as such, just information. By no means is it a way to conduct a diagnosis which is a more complex process that takes a series of parameters, quantifiable or not.

The full article from lifehacker describes the phenomenom:

“Everyone’s done it: you’ve got a raging stomachache and you’re feeling kind of fatigued, so you search online for the cause of your malady and conclude that you’ve got cancer. A new study from Microsoft shows that “cyberchondria” is common because when you search for symptoms, the worst case scenario can be the first result—or not representative of the frequency of a serious illness. (For example, searching for a headache will return just as many brain tumor results as caffeine withdrawal, when the chances of a tumor are “infinitesimally small.”) Have you decided you’re dying after searching for illness symptoms online? Tell us about it in the comments.” Source:Lifehacker

I will also include one of the most interesting comments on the article:

“My boyfriend uses the internet to self-diagnose and predict his impending doom on a regular basis.” Healthcare consumer

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve convinced myself I have appendicitis by reading WebMD.”  Healthcare consumer

I also found a detailled comment by a neuropsychologist about the dangers of self-diagnosis:

“As a clinical neuropsychologist, I cannot tell you how often patients search for health-related information that ends up being wrong, or does not apply to them. I would estimate from clinical experience that people are led to inaccurate or non-applicable information 95% of the time, whereas only 5% actually find something useful. People often show up at my office with printouts of symptoms and all sorts of illness-related information, having completely convinced themselves that they have disorder X. It’s actually a sad thing and it takes forever to disabuse individuals of information that they have latched onto as explaining all of their problems.

There are many considerations and variables that factor into diagnostic decision-making besides a list of symptoms. I would encourage anyone who seriously believes that he or she is ill to seek medical attention. I’m not saying that we should unquestionably accept information from our health care providers — doctors can and do make mistakes. But, please, try to keep an open mind and resist the urge to self-diagnose. If you have been to multiple doctors and no one can find anything wrong with you, it might be fruitful to check your premises.”

Your TeleDoctor is aiming at bridging the gap between healthcare consumers and physicians by offering a plateform that provide the same advantages of accessibility and convinience of information website, but by adding value by having a physician to help you with your medical concerns.

I have been thinking all day long about ways to enhance the experience for the people that will be using a teleconsultation service over the Internet. One simplistic idea will be to allow patients to consult a doctor without caring about his/her location. This is what I call the global healthcare marketplace. As for any disruptive idea, there will be many hurdles that should be surpassed:

• Developing countries physicians are not as competent: A number of doctors in developing countries have degrees outside their country and attend international conferences to keep up to date.
• Laws protecting doctors like in Quebec, Canada and North America in General: Like for any other service, the globalization and internationalization of medicine is something that cannot be fought against for a long time from now on. Medicine is becoming more and more transparent. The people that want to keep it opaque are doing it to protect their interests and those of a community of doctors. This has nothing to do with the consumer. The consumer/patient should be empowered and should be the central piece of the puzzle. We need to give the consumer its lost place. (Rate my doctor).
• Cultural Difference: Most doctors in the United States and in Canada are immigrants. There are some minor specificities to the medicine and sicknesses but a doctor has the same formation and the human body is the same wherever you go. Many studies have reaveled common traits in humans no matter their ethnicity or skin color.
• Remote consultations are not as reliable as face to face: There has been many studies in the subject. In Ontario for instance, it was shown that patients resent no major difference compared to face to face visits with their psychiatrists. Also, it has been shown that more than 80% of the visits to a general practitionner end up without having a physical contact with the patient.This idea to develop the service into a world wide advice network of physician has grown up and could present an alternative to the shortage for doctors in Canada and the States.