Searching for reliable web sites that discuss the diagnosis of diseases can be a hit-or-miss proposition. The process is sometimes jokingly referred to as "consulting Dr. Google" (see: The precautions you should take before consulting ‘Dr. Google’). Regarding the use of lab tests for diagnosis, one of the best resources that I know is the ARUP Laboratories Test Directory. One word of caution here is that it's primarily designed to guide physicians in test ordering.
The trend of providing information on the web about diseases for consumers continues. One example is the Mayo Clinic web site (see: Find Diseases & Conditions). My opinion of this patient educational tool is that it addresses a wide array of diseases but the descriptions lack detail. Here, for example, is the "overview" of radiation enteritis:
Radiation enteritis is inflammation of the intestines that occurs after radiation therapy. Radiation enteritis causes diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and stomach cramps in people receiving radiation aimed at the abdomen, pelvis or rectum. Radiation enteritis is most common in people receiving radiation therapy for cancer in the abdomen and pelvic areas. For most people, radiation enteritis is temporary and the inflammation usually subsides several weeks after treatment ends. But for some, radiation enteritis may continue long after treatment ends or may develop months or years after treatment. Chronic radiation enteritis can cause complications such as anemia, diarrhea and partial bowel obstruction. Treatment typically focuses on relieving signs and symptoms until the inflammation heals. In severe cases, tube feeding or surgery to remove sections of the intestine may be necessary.
The Mayo Clinic web site reflects the dilemma facing prestigious health systems publishing on the web. They want to help readers understand diseases but they don't want to undercut their own physicians who may be called upon to care for some of the same people who are browsing the web site. In other words, the "Diseases and Conditions" section of the Mayo web site is designed to engage consumer interest but may not provide specifics relating to diseases.
I understand why health systems like Mayo adopt this approach. Nevertheless, this may be too little too late. In a recent blog, I quoted an EHR pioneer, Jonathan Bush, who said the following in support of EHR interoperability (see: Why Some Hospital CEOs May Be Opposing Interoperability in Support of Epic):
...[Jonathan Bush] said the following: "... with new data-sharing opportunities, patients can send their medical data to new tech services [on the web] that can "aggregate data and recognize patterns in a way that health systems can't..." This is one facet of predictive analytics and an exciting new development in healthcare. I don't want to stifle its development in any way. I can envision that consumers will use such "tech services" as a check of a current diagnosis, particularly a serious one.
Arriving very soon, in my opinion, will be web sites to which consumers will be able to input data extracted from their hospital-based EHR records to arrive at some broad diagnostic information. Such web sites will specialize in predictive health analytics but may also provide some descriptive information about diseases similar to the Mayo Clinic web site. I understand that this will be a major jump in healthcare and fraught with some risk but I think that this is the direction in which we are headed.
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