Concept of Self-Diagnosis
Self-diagnosis refers to the practise of patients utilizing information from sources other than a medically trained doctor to identify symptoms and relate it to a particular disease. Quite simply, patients act in the sense that they are completely cognizant of their health condition without seeking medical advice.
Self-diagnosis is not a new phenomenon. However, it has become a more pervasive one in society due to the impact of the Internet. With the advent of the Internet, information on medical issues has become more accessible and hence people are turning to the Internet as the first stop to appraise their current condition and many diagnose themselves and eventually seek out the cure on their own. This new 'empowering' Self-diagnosis has led to a new condition called cyperchondria where many patients misinterpret symptoms and misdiagnose themselves leading to deleterious consequences to their health.
My research would focus on diagnosis, treatment and communication aspects of patient physician relationship in the Internet age.
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Right, self-diagnosis is, if anything, older than getting a diagnosis from a doctor. If I have a headache, and I take aspirin, this is technically self-diagnosis (though of a very mild variety). One thing you might consider exploring is how self-daignosis might be a liberating process for physicians, in that they could potentially be free to pursue only puzzling or serious health issues and the patients could self-diagnose and administer treatments for mild health problems without the doctor having to get involved at all. Could that be a possibility for the future as well?
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