¿Debe o no un doctor tener una página de internet?
Many doctors feel that it is unethical for doctors to have a website because they feel it is a form of advertising. They feel that a website is a cheap gimmick, and reputable doctors do not have to stoop to such low levels in order to solicit patients – after all, there is a difference between doctors who are professionals and stores, which They are going to sell their products!
My opinion on the matter is exactly the opposite. And in fact, I feel like doctors who don’t have websites are really unethical. Let us not forget that the word doctor is derived from the word docere, which means to teach; and that one of the main professional responsibilities of the doctor is to educate his patients, so that they can manage their diseases and take better care of their health. The medical profession is meant to educate the laity, so that they can remain healthy and prevent disease.
One of the most effective tools for educating patients is a website. It allows doctors to extend beyond the four walls of their clinic, so they can teach everyone in the community about their health. By not doing so, they are actually abdicating their responsibility. In fact, it is senior physicians, who are no longer actively practicing medicine, and have become the elder statesman of the medical profession, who are in the best position to provide online education to patients through a website as they can provide information that can be trusted. It is sad that they are selfishly allowing a lifetime of clinical experience to go with them to the grave.
A lot of doctors are very critical and dismissive of patients who go online in order to find information about their illness. They don’t like patients who use their symptoms, and then bring pages of impressions from the Internet, so they can discuss the results of their search with their doctor. They feel that the Internet only serves to confuse patients; And it ends up wasting the doctor’s time too. However, if you are not willing to provide a workaround, this only means that you are part of the problem.
Doctors need to realize that if they were willing to publish their own websites, their patients would be much happier to get authentic, reliable information from a person they trust – their own doctor – rather than having to waste hours searching for information, which is of doubtful authenticity. Patients don’t like to waste time; And they hate to get confused when they come across information on different sites, which provide diametrically opposed points of view.
I hope it soon becomes routine for doctors to have their own websites, as it is for them to have their own stethoscopes!
