People mostly do not question the requirement that their doctors must authorize prescription drug therapies. This is slowly changing, however. Patients increasingly turn to telemedicine websites, whose presence seems to consist of little more than web-based questionnaires.
Category: Telemedicine
The Cost of Pet Cancer Care Rivals a Car, Yet Texas Limits Competition
This topic became an issue for me because of my dog Clementine. I recently wrote about her experience at the veterinarian. She had surgery for bladder stones, but the surgery did not resolve her problems. We took her back twice more, finally getting a referral to a specialist. A veterinary internal medicine specialist did a very thorough examination costing nearly $1,500. The pathology report found cancer that had metastasized.
The Dark Side of Social Media Medicine
One thing I have never heard was a doctor advising viewers to take drugs willy-nilly without an underlying condition or an examination. There is more to the Internet than YouTube, however and social media has plenty of charlatans. Social media influencers on TikTok, Instagram and elsewhere, with no medical background, often encourage followers to take prescription drugs.
WSJ: More People Using Health AI, OTC Testing for DIY Health Care
The Wall Street Journal reports that more Americans are turning to AI chatbots, and OTC medical tests to diagnose and treat themselves, or at least monitor their own health. Surveys going back more than 25 years found that about 100 million Americans a year turn to the Internet for health information. A few minutes on the Internet can teach patients more about their health condition than their doctor would have time to explain. AI has made perusing the Internet for health information even easier.