We live in the digital age now, where Google and Siri have become our go-to solutions for everything.
Whether you need a recipe, a contact, an address, a cure, or a diagnosis, it is all just a click away.
Do you disagree? You probably don’t.
While it might be okay to ask Google for the best movies, songs, and recipes, how wise is it to ask a search engine for diagnosis?
Doctors report that patients these days come to them with so much information from Dr. Google that they often refuse to accept the diagnosis they provide because they read something else.
We are not saying that it is bad to read, we are talking about the sources you read from. We cannot stress how important it is to read from the right sources.
The internet is open and accessible to all. Anyone can add information to it, and there is no policing body to fact-check the information.
This quality and authenticity of the internet can be very dangerous when it comes to health-related information. Another factor to be considered is that, even if the sources are genuine, every human body is unique, and what might suit one might not be good for the other.
Diseases don’t read medical textbooks, neither do patients. What works for one patient may not work for another. Different patients may manifest symptoms in different ways.
Other dangerous sources of such information are often uncles, aunts, grandmothers, and family remedies. While some of the home remedies are good, some may even be harmful, especially when done with half knowledge.
There are so many magic remedies and magic products out there, so many shortcuts to ‘good health’, fad diets and so much more. When people blindly follow these, they are bound to suffer in the future. You do not want to entrust your health to unknown entities on the internet and suffer in the long run.
But, you also need to ensure that your health is in good condition.
So what is the solution?
It’s simple. Trust your doctors. But your doctor isn't just a browse away like the internet!
Even with the developments in artificial intelligence etc, our advice would be to trust your doctors and build a relationship with them. The OKdoc App which links into the Remote Doctors 4 Africa (RD4A) Health Ecosystem can also allow you to be in contact with your trusted doctor even when far away.
What about recent events and the media?
Recently, the trust in doctors has declined due to several reasons; the major ones being social media and the news. While very few people broadcast their positive experiences with doctors, the few negative experiences are blown out of proportion and shared by friends and family on the internet. Doctors are also suddenly rather divided on treatments for Covid-19
A vital point being ignored, is that the costs of healthcare and infrastructure are not in the hands of Doctors and humans are not immortal!
News publishers and social media also choose to shed extra light only on the few negative incidents that happen with complete disregard to the damage being done to the doctor-patient relationship, which is detrimental to society on the whole.
Another factor leading to this mistrust is the online reviews that patients publish. Not only is it easy to write fake reviews, but often people write reviews only when something goes wrong. So the thousands of times that the doctor helped their patient goes down the drain if one consultation did not go well.
Well as we just pointed out earlier in this article, the internet and social media are not a very good source for medical facts.
What about a web based platform that can be trusted?
Remote Doctors 4 Africa (RD4A) have built a Cloud-based Health Ecosystem, that you can access through the OKdoc App, that will not only allow you to connect directly with trusted doctors, but it will even offer further access to specialists that will be at your trusted doctors fingertips, transforming your trusted doctor into a Super Doctor.
How do you know a particular doctor can be trusted? Well the OKdoc App will even offer patient reviews about the doctors on the platform and these won't just be reviews from the odd patient that didn't like his doctor for this or that reason every patient will be encouraged to rate the service they receive every time they use OKdoc.
OK so you don't need to worry about those killer doctors you read about in the tabloids anymore as long as you use OKdoc. So let us get back why you should be trusting your doctor.
Doctors spend years mastering their profession, and they also do so out of genuine interest to cure people. While it is always good to cross-check a doctor’s credentials and reviews of patients on authentic platforms like RD4A OKdoc , an appointment with a doctor which can be done live through a video call definitely scores over an hour of pouring over the internet or other source non-qualified sources.
So Here Is Why You Should Trust Your Doctor
A doctor treats each patient individually instead of recommending generic cures.
Your doctor knows your body composition, medical history, sees you personally and knows what treatments your body has been responding to in the past. On the on the RD4A Health Ecosystem your medical history is encrypted into the cloud and only follows you the patient on the OKdoc App no matter who is treating you or where they are)
When your trusted Doctor examines you he would normaly ask you for relevant details before prescribing anything on the RD4A Health Ecosystem all those details will be available for him straight away from the encrypted RD4A cloud but only after he identifies himself and interacts with you in person, through the OKdoc app or a registered care unit. A script which will be easily loaded into the RD4A Health Ecosystem and will be available through your OKdoc app no matter which pharmacy you go to. No more paper scripts and waiting in queues at pharmacies. You will be able to choose a pharmacy, through OKdoc, to prepare your script and all you need to do is arrive to collect it.
Unlike an anonymous source on the internet, your doctor appears in front of you identified in real-time securely by the RD4A security interfaces using biometrics, either online or physically. With OKdoc you know exactly who is treating you and that they are properly qualified, not like these quacks that have recently been exposed and arrested for posing as doctors and even writing scripts. This cannot happen on OKdoc.
Your doctor will have verifiable credentials, and anytime you wish you can verify them through the RD4A Health Ecosystem using OKdoc. The knowledge they have has come from many years of rigorous training and is priceless.
Each person is different. Each disease manifests differently. Different people may respond differently to the same treatment. Experience matters. the Doctors on the RD4A Health Ecosystem will know what to do.
A trusted Doctor's knowledge of complex body processes, mechanisms, and inter-relationship between all body structures is needed because you don’t treat an organ in isolation, you treat the patient. On the RD4A Health Ecosystem you will be a life time patient with all your individual special needs and history available at each diagnosis.
Most doctors strive to make their patients comfortable and build relationships, with the RD4A Health Ecosystem and OKdoc app it will be much easier for your Doctor to stay in touch and follow your progress using the OKdoc video chat and though unique remote link portable patient health analytics devices, also available from RD4A, or at a registered remote care unit, even if it is half way across the continent from your trusted Doctor.
Patients display more positive results to treatment when being treated by a trusted Doctor and Doctors report that when patients trust them, build relationships, and rely on them for relief from their troubles, that’s all the motivation that they needto work long hours.
Some might argue saying that doctors charge high rates and and yes they can be expensive if you are not on a medical aid. The RD4A Health Ecosystem even integrates into all the best medical aids and medical related NGOs as well ensuring ease of payment and service offering. and what if you are not on a medical aid? Some of the Doctors that are on the RD4A offer special rates for those in financial difficulty and some Doctors even offer their services for free to indigent communities through the RD4A Health Ecosystem. This means that the OKdoc App is for anyone no matter what your station in life or your income status, depending on who you are you might even qualify for free treatment through the RD4A Health Ecosystem!
