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More people are turning to the Web for medical advice, especially if they think their primary physician may be wrong. But doctors say there are some things you should know before you follow through with an online second opinion.
Say your doctor tells you that you have diabetes. You're not so sure, so you go online for a second opinion.
Utah Medical Association spokesman Mark Fotheringham said, "The physicians, I think, have a general feeling that a more informed patient is a better patient."
The Utah Medical Association does not disapprove of getting a second opinion from the Web, but Fotheringham says patients need to look out for snake oil salesmen.
"They'll always be there. There will be somebody who has got some brand new thing that only he or she can provide. That's a red flag right there," he said.
Some doctors say patients have caused themselves serious damage taking medical advice from someone trying to sell something. Take, for example, some diabetics.
Utah Medical Association President Mark Bair said, "Patients have decided to go completely off their medications as diabetics and tried to use medications they bought from a health food online store that claimed that they could treat their diabetes without medications. That particular patient almost died."
Bair says diagnosing problems online can get tricky.
"Often times, patients present with symptoms of a disease that present in an atypical fashion," he said.
Bair says once his patient had appendicitis, although he didn't have the textbook symptoms of the disease. He had pain in a different part of the abdomen. Bair says certain Web sites would not have included appendicitis as a possibility from those initial symptoms.
"But his symptoms were similar, his progression was similar and there was another sixth sense, if you will, that said this may be a concern," Bair said.
Bair says no matter how good the online diagnosis may be, face-to-face doctor visits are better. But, if someone gets a second opinion from a Web site, there won't be a problem if you talk to your doctor about it.
"If they're concerned that their doctor has either made a misdiagnosis or they think that something else should be explored, then simply contacting your doctor and working with him, or her, will actually make it a whole lot easier, and you can come to the correct diagnosis," he said.
USA Today says the three busiest sources for remote second opinions are the Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins Medicine, and Partners Online Specialty Consultations. Nearly 10,000 people have consulted with POSC since 2001.
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
