From the Diagnosis column in today's NYT Magazine: "If he was the second opinion, then the patient clearly needed a third. Suddenly Schumann had an idea. What if they opened the mystery of his symptoms to other doctors? What if they put his case on the Internet — on a blog read mostly by doctors — and let some new eyes and brains work on this problem? The patient was excited by the idea."
Hello, medical profession? There's this new thing called the Internet. We think you'll like it.
I don't know if it is new or novel for doctors to consult an online community to diagnose patience but I do no that veterinarians use internet resources. When our Great Dane Jewel developed a limp favoring her left hind leg our vet was stumped. Her symptoms were quite unique and he posted them online. After about a month he finally got a response from a vet on the other side of the continent, Jewel had a torn ligament. This is an injury rarely seen in lazy giant breeds but often seen in very athletic dogs. Jewel (who is not the brightest pup in the litter) our giant Great Dane thinks she is a super athlete and a lap dog so the diagnosis made perfect sense.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, if vets are using the internet to help dogs let's hope and pray that doctors for people do too.