Fed up with Congressional bickering over health care reform?
Find yourself in need of medical care with no insurance to pay for it?
Many people have turned to online medical sites, such as WebMD.com, to help identify symptoms they may be experiencing in lieu of making a costly and time-consuming visit to the doctor.
But while monetary issues are certainly a concern when it comes to health care — millions of people are unable to support the cost of necessary medical treatment — relying on Web sites to cure maladies could leave you sicker than you were before you Googled “swollen lymph nodes.”
Diagnostic sites are certainly resources that can be helpful — they can lead to more awareness of potential problems and help catch illnesses before they progress too far. But like the rest of technology, these sites have their limits. Hypochondria is one of them.
Who knew that the mild stomachache you searched could turn out to not be from eating too quickly at dinner but rather a precursor for dysentery?
(Yeah, that disease you picked up when you were fording the river playing too much Oregon Trail in elementary school.)
Being informed is one thing. Over exaggerating a headache is quite another.
Which is not to say health concerns shouldn’t be addressed with every tool available — the diagnosis just shouldn’t be found on the Internet.
As easy as it is to search your symptom, the resource cannot be a replacement for a doctor. These sites can make you a more informed patient, potentially acting as a checks and balances system for doctors, but they cannot substitute actual medical treatment. WebMD.com even has the disclaimer, “WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment,” nor should it. Technology should not take over for a licensed medical professional.
Neither should technology take over for common sense. Dr. Jennifer Hartmark-Hill, director of the Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine Resident Education Program, said many Web sites seek to sell unapproved drugs along with dosing out medical advice. “An astronomical amount” of money is spent on unapproved medication each year as a replacement for visiting a doctor, Hartmark-Hill said.
It’s one thing to check an online resource for background information.
It’s something completely different to medicate yourself with your MacBook (which despite its manifold positive qualities, does not have a medical degree).
You wouldn’t cite Wikipedia on your final paper and expect your professor to let it fly, so why would you diagnose yourself with an online source and expect it to take the place of a medically-trained professional?
But what this ultimately points to is a dire need for affordable, accessible health care options. Congress is no Ferrari when it comes to passing legislation, and even if health care reforms are passed sometime soon, the general population may not see effects for years.
But while we have to wait a while for reforms to trickle down, there are less expensive options for those in need of medical care.
Instead of searching for the symptoms to malaria, try looking up free clinics in the area or research the costs of student health insurance.
Your health is too important to gamble online.
