The role of the medical doctor
Being a doctor is more than just a job for the majority of people within the profession. Medicine is an area that people aspire to work within (often from a young age) and then devote their lives to. In other words, a true vocation. The amount of training required – whether for general practice or for specialist consultation – is extensive, and (depending on the country) usually takes upwards of five years’ study.
Given the amount of training doctors have, it’s no wonder that as a profession they are held in high esteem. They are well remunerated, and have status – as well as generally quite long working hours, and no doubt their fair share of stress.
But does a high standard of medical training mean that the care given is uniformly excellent? The vastly improved communications and networking offered by the internet have had a massive impact on the medical profession – and a culture change among patients.
Given the increased level to which millennials interact with new media, it becomes ever more important that medical professionals and organisations fully explore the potential opportunities and benefits that this added layer of communication brings, as well as making themselves aware of any of the less positive aspects that may need to be addressed should they become apparent.
The impact of the internet
These days, we’ve become very used to things being rated, scored and judged online. Whether it’s hotels and restaurants on sites like TripAdvisor or consumer goods on Amazon, user reviews can be published at the click of a button – and when a consensus of opinion emerges, it can have an effect on sales. There have even been instances where box office takings are believed to have been affected by a rash of adverse reviews appearing more or less immediately after the release of a film.
So how does all of this affect doctors? In the UK, the profession is seeing challenges from two areas. First, the ‘doctor rating’ style websites, and second, from official ratings by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which was set up by the government’s health department.
Healthcare systems
Different healthcare systems obviously operate under different sets of conditions – so for instance the UK’s NHS (free at point of use) may not have the customer-friendly extras you’d get within a private system in, say, Qatar or Dubai. However in the UK, patients can still opt to go private, which widens the choice patients have of where and when their treatment takes place, as well as more control over referral –see this case study outlining an AXA PPP healthcare (UK provider) ‘fast track’ customer journey.
In the States, the healthcare system is very different from that of the UK – with the private sector being much larger. However there is a similar demand for online information and ratings around doctors and specialist consultants. You can view a list of the more popular sites here (as well as a good overview of their limitations).
In summary
While the internet has its (very valuable) uses for research, as always there are a few things it can’t provide. For instance, to get a gut feeling for any professional (no matter their area of work) then meeting them is important – and then an opinion can be formed. On top of this, there are all the more involved matters such as your personal requirements, their level of experience, the quality of their practice in terms of comfort, decor and equipment, and so on.
