The Rise of the Smart Patients

Smart patients are not exactly a new concept.

There was a time as a doctor, you were lord of the consulting room. A patient comes to you, you alone know the possible complications he or she could have, you alone know the diagnosis, and you alone know the treatment.

Indeed, even for patients, there was a time we were comfortable in our ignorance. The doctor says you have high blood pressure, the doctor says you should use drug A and not drug B, you don’t need to know why. The doctor can’t be wrong,

That time is now past. The veil has been lifted, the scales removed!

It is an AHA! moment. The rightful owner now has the Power, the patient.

How did this happen?

Technology, the internet, and maybe some frustration on the part of the patients have led to this rebellion.

For instance, think of having to wait one week to get an x-ray interpretation or one month for a doctor’s review of your tests. This can be frustrating on many levels

Thankfully, now your smartphone can reduce the number of questions you need to ask your doctors. Smart apps can tell you your oxygen saturation, pulse, blood pressure, ECG, etc in real-time. You can even get a simple interpretation of your test results.

Doctors have been demystified. In years to come whatever little power they still have will likely be taken away. What with the possibility of holographic medical consultation, artificial intelligence, robotic surgeries, cloud storage of life medical data, genetic information, etc

The possibilities are endless! The future is exciting.