Take two Aspirin…

…and read this. From Dylan Welch at the Sydney Morning Herald:

Medical website hits back at doctors

A professor of medicine working with an online medical diagnosis website says a call by the Australian Medical Association to avoid such sites was ill-informed, and “they need to be open to this new technology”.

NSW AMA President Andrew Keegan last week criticised the growth of web diagnostic tools, saying it was inappropriate for a diagnosis to be given without a full face-to-face history by a doctor.

But Professor George Rubin, a consultant with private hospital owner Australian Macquarie Health Corporation, which runs yourdiagnosis.com, told smh.com.au the call by Dr Keegan ignored obvious benefits of new technologies offered by the internet.

They have an interesting model – I doubt its sustainable as a pharmaceutical companies etc sponsor free ones but still…

The site, which claims two million hits in four years, offers a diagnosis based on a series of interactive questions asked by a computer program.

Patients pay $19 to $22 for a health summary that attempts to diagnose any medical conditions

What are the names of those big medical/diagnosis online communities? One was WebMD? And the other one is Dr something. Both have been around for at least 7 years.

Remember, the old guard don’t control information anymore. And if you think that people won’t wiki to understand something that is worrying them, you got another think coming. Your brand? your knowledge? your expertise? People are swarming and sharing and talking. They have more up to date information on their concerns, passions, obsessions than all but the most expert of experts. Use their commitment, don’t ignore it!

Technorati Tags Online Communities, Australia, Dylan Welch, Sydney Morning Herald, George Rubin, yourdiagnosis.com