Every doctor has faced this. You recieve a notification and there is the message "Hi, quick question " followed by symptoms typed in two words, a blurry photo and a request to just recommend a magical medicine. You are in a catch 22 situation because if you reply with “Please visit the hospital” they react as if help is being refused. What they expect is a quick answer with no appointment, waiting and cost, but proper treatment is not guesswork. A real consultation needs examination, vitals and blood work.
Most doctors do want to help, but such messages can make personal time feel like endless unpaid duty. Advice shared casually on WhatsApp can have consequences too, as they can be screenshotted, forwarded, and even quoted in court if outcomes are poor.
Have you recieved such messages ? What is your way to tackle them ?
This! We don’t bring this up enough. The nobility of the profession is something that has been painted over or rather so corporatized and so gone are the days when one is bound to reply for “quick fixes” or “do me a favor” just because they have our contacts or are acquainted with us. I’ve written on a similar topic on this platform.. feel free to have a look and drop comments. Why is a Doctor’s Fee Always a Debate?
I simply ask the patient to come and visit me physically . Sometimes you don’t have to think emotionally bit practically, prescribing medicines on just one message is not a big deal but a skilled doctor will always try to rule out the causative factors , which will be only understood via a meetup with the patient.
As an eye doctor I advise patients they need proper consultation and undergo investigations if required, as even a small symptom- according to patients like redness of eye, can actually have many differential diagnoses which cannot be made over a WhatsApp image. So a firm refusal is a must.
Patients have less understanding of consequences in digital consultation over the text. Proper history taking with general examination is a basic requirement to diagnose any disease. I think communicating with patients about this and making them understand why consultation over texts is not a solution is a need of time.
Everything has its own process. So it’s better to follow that. If the patient couldn’t describe their symptoms properly, it can mislead a doctor. This may make the situation worse. Visiting a doctor is a better solution than taking those shortcuts.