Dr DeCamp and Dr Colbert said they agree that colleague-to-colleague interactions can be useful for physicians and patients — whether they happen over the Internet, at medical conferences, or through other sources.
“I would want to be sure that patients understand that these media can be shared much more widely than medical textbooks or journal articles. That could be important to some patients, and even affect their willingness to share,” Dr DeCamp explained.
“There may even be a special benefit for patients in rural or geographically isolated areas, if these applications can, for example, increase access to specialty knowledge or care,” he said.
Technology does have limits, though. Physicians need to see the whole patient to make an accurate diagnosis. “Plus, there are the concerns about privacy and confidentiality in the increasingly networked, big data world,” said Dr DeCamp.
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