Aeasuring your blood values at home on the couch via an app to see if something is wrong with you? The University of Rhode Island is currently in an advanced stage of developing an app that makes this possible. We are on the eve of a new phase in digital self-care: self-diagnosis. With far-reaching consequences for the playing field between care recipient and doctor.
The evolution of digital self-care
Self-diagnosis is a logical next step of digital self-care, which ties in with the basic need for insight into one's own health. In the evolution of digital self-care, different phases can be distinguished.
The ignorant patient
Before the internet, the patient was virtually ignorant (apart from the hobbyist who had his cupboard full list to data of medical reference books). If you had a problem, you went to the doctor to hear the diagnosis. Without any prior knowledge or doubt about the result.
The educated patient
With the advent of the internet, we gained access to an inexhaustible online medical reference work. A legion of medical platforms and forums encourage the individual's own perception of the cause of the complaints. As a result, doctors had to deal with the educated patient: "I think I have a sinus infection, because according to dokterdokter.nl I have all the symptoms".