In this era of internet so many services have moved to an online platform. Doctors are also available online; they use their online platforms to perform diagnostic and prescriptive work. Yes, today it is as easy as typing in your symptoms plus other variables including your age weight and pre-existing medical conditions and some websites are available to give you a list of diagnosis. Now the practice of online doctors also refers to the doctors who have one on one online contact with a patient and are able to diagnose the condition from visual and audio collection of symptoms, and issuing a prescriptive measure. There is also a crop of therapists and psychologist/ psychiatrists who are available online and provide their diagnosis, treatment (in form of counseling and other forms of therapy) and prescriptions from their online platforms with free ask the doctor symptoms.
Diagnostic sites
Almost every first world economy has an option for this trend. Most people in this era are addicted or prefer an instant solution to their problem. Since the construction of the first diagnostic website in 1996 there are more diagnostic sites available for online doctors. The way they work is that the user keys in a list of their symptoms including other variables like weight, age and pre-existing conditions (Over the years the sites have definitely improved allowing for the inclusion of this variables), then a list of possible conditions is released by the site.
Diagnostic sites are very user friendly and the results are instant and not at all cumbersome but there begs the issue that a list of possible outcomes may range from very minor conditions to extreme and major diagnosis. Before confirmation from a physician in person who would utilise all the diagnostic tools available, an online doctor site can result in panic if a user decides to overreact or under reaction which can result in an otherwise dire situation going untreated.
Online physicians
Online doctors can chose to have their original patients to use their websites to either get a prescription refilled or notify them of reducing or escalating symptoms from a previous diagnosis. This is very convenient for repeat patients who have previously been diagnosed. But it can have a few disadvantages in that, it is very easy to miss some symptoms, patients aren’t always so forthcoming when it comes to giving symptoms and as well the online doctors cannot perform all the diagnostic tools possible from just visual and audio confirmation.
Online therapists and psychiatrists
Seems easy enough; get a counseling session at the comfort of your couch or even your bed. Online therapy is probably the most effective of the three online doctors. It has less disadvantages but it can also be very impersonal. Prescriptive psychiatric treatments can also be a little limiting but mental medicine is at the very least affected by this new process of online doctors.
Fortunately this is a fairly new field and advancements are in the making. With scans such as x rays, CT scans and other diagnostic tools are to be improved to allow virtual use.
