Wouldn’t it be nice if you could email your doctor?

What a timesaver it would be if you could email your doctor quick questions you had about minor medical issues. For some patients, it’s already a reality.

A doctor in my area took part in a project called TransforMED that is hoping to change family medicine for the future. Among the initiatives is online access to doctors, same-day appointments, and up-to-date treatments.
For minor medical questions and or appointment requests you can send the office an email through its website.

Also, a family member who goes to his practice told me that he uses his Blackberry to access treatment plans and calcuate dosages.

I think more and more we will see medical practitioners using technology to make their jobs easier and our experiences better. For example, the pediatrician who treats my sons has all of their records electronically. There is never a big paper folder for the doctor to thumb through as all the information from every visit is accessible via computer. I love that someday they will go to the hospital and the doctor will be able to access their full and complete medical history to give them the best treatment possible.

Another way technology is changing the medical landscape is by giving patients the power and knowledge to be their own advocates. While there is no substitute for face-to-face medical diagnosis, it is helpful to look up conditions and symptoms online to make your visits more successful.

Some of my favorite online sites are:

www.askdrsears.com (his online medicine cabinet has been so helpful especially with young children).

MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, has dictionaries, interactive slideshows, drug information and even videos of actual surgeries.

VisualDXHealth, an online visual dictionary of skin diseases and medical issues. This is great for when your kids gets a strange rash and you want to see pictures and not just read “red spots.”

Photo via Flickr