The Google Doctors

I have had my fair share of experiences with an abundance of doctors, both good and bad. The good ones have never let me down *knock on wood* and are above par on my standards. But the bad, ohhhh the bad. My biggest question for this group of lazy, uneducated people: Is Google really necessary for you to run your practice?

The answer to this question should actually be a no-brainer. Why would a doctor use Google to diagnose somebody? Isn't Google's unlimited access to medical facts and fictions the reason why so many people have become hypochondriacs? So - no. Google should not be necessary for a doctor to diagnose and treat a patient. I have had my fair share of experiences of Google Doctors both inside and outside of the examination room. "Why do you think my back hurts?" "I don't know... let's Google your symptoms". If I had known we were just going to "Google" my symptoms I would've done this on my own. But she's just my primary doctor - no big deal. ...

Once we get past the whole, "okay maybe it was just that one time thing" (which it turned out not to be), what happens when we get a specialist who is sick of patients Googling their symptoms and telling him what they think they have. I believe it is just human nature to try and figure out what could be wrong with you, even though WebMD always says you're going to die a horrible violent death.. Anyways. This doctor became a catch-22 for me. He not only yelled at me for looking up what could possibly be wrong, because "how is a doctor suppose to do their job when they have patients coming in and telling him what they have"? but then before I left his office he told me to "Google my diagnosis and do some reading". OKAY. Don't get me wrong, but if so called Google Doctors don't want me on the internet and then tell me to go on the internet I find myself a little bit confused. I understand where the "don't look things up online" comes from. Google gives people a very very diverse range of websites that can be both helpful and extremely harmful. Wikipedia for instance.. not always the best website to go to for factual answers, since every day Joe-blows can write whatever they want on that website and basically say their word is holy. Also, Google Answers.. not the best place to go.. sometimes highly entertaining, but nowhere to look for facts. But then we once again come to WebMD which really is a fine website, if you'd like to be scared out of your mind and then reassured by a doctor that your throat isn't going to fall out of your face after your leg falls off.

So. I say. Let's get rid of the Google Doctors and bring in the good ones. Return some sensible knowledge to the medical community and maybe people won't be half as quick to look up their symptoms on the good old Google.