I still get text consults every now and then. Something like this:
"Masakit ang tiyan ko. Ano kaya ito?
Whoah. Of course, any doctor could think of countless medical possibilities there are in a simple stomach ache.
My husband already knows my facial expression when I get these sorts. I reply to most, something like a medical history - by installment. You could imagine the exchange, not to mention the tangential answers to utterly simple questions like "since when did it start?" (noon pa..), "where exactly?" (basta masakit lahat), "how would you describe the pain?" (basta masakit lahat).
Whoah. Of course, any doctor could think of countless medical possibilities there are in a simple stomach ache.
My husband already knows my facial expression when I get these sorts. I reply to most, something like a medical history - by installment. You could imagine the exchange, not to mention the tangential answers to utterly simple questions like "since when did it start?" (noon pa..), "where exactly?" (basta masakit lahat), "how would you describe the pain?" (basta masakit lahat).
The last one was not a typo error. And many times, they end up.. er, demanding for a pill.
I used to be easy on text consults, especially when I was a doctor to the barrio. I had no choice but to trust everything that my midwife on the next island relays. Many times it works, of course she has training too and many times the information is adequate. Sometimes it doesn't work, and I will have to ask that the patient be brought to me or somewhere else.
Phone consults, or SMS consults in particular, leaves a doctor to certain risks in making the correct diagnosis. For example, even the best doctor won't commit to an appendicitis during its earliest stages. Or what seems to be a simple rash can actually turn out to be something else. That's why, in medical school, we were taught to correlate the medical history AND the physical examination. Ok, oftentimes, a good medical history is actually enough to arrive at a good decision. But many times, a physical examination is necessary. Taking a step further, some situations even necessitate diagnostics like blood tests, x-rays, CT scan, MRI, etc.
Phone consults, or SMS consults in particular, leaves a doctor to certain risks in making the correct diagnosis. For example, even the best doctor won't commit to an appendicitis during its earliest stages. Or what seems to be a simple rash can actually turn out to be something else. That's why, in medical school, we were taught to correlate the medical history AND the physical examination. Ok, oftentimes, a good medical history is actually enough to arrive at a good decision. But many times, a physical examination is necessary. Taking a step further, some situations even necessitate diagnostics like blood tests, x-rays, CT scan, MRI, etc.
Next time you text your doctor friend, be patient (as he or she is with you). Next time you text your doctor, be patient too. The number of questions asked does not correlate with the quality of doctor that he/she is. The fact that he/she takes pains to ask instead of giving you an instant text prescription, for me, actually means that the doctor cares enough. All the questions are "pertinent", as doctors love to say. Doctors are trained to sift through all the information and streamline questions towards the goal of arriving at a good clinical decision. My non-medical husband is getting good at this too, because some text-in referrals land on his phone! Haha :)!
Oh, and doctors have personal lives to live too. That is why they have clinic hours :) So again, please be considerate if they don't reply at an instant. What many patients consider as emergency, does not really count as one in medical terms. Blunt. Don't get me wrong, I understand! Before I became a mother, I thought some were overacting over their children's sneezing bouts. Now, it almost counts as an emergency to me. And this is why I have renewed respect for pediatricians.
The story is different if it IS an emergency, and your doctor's phone says "cannot be reached" . And that is why we have emergency rooms.
As for me, I still happily and patiently answer to text consults. That is, after the installment medical history. After all, I am a doctor and not your manghuhula. :)
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