Patient problem:

We see the doc, & try to take good notes, but are nervous, & don't understand the jargon, & we leave a bit confused.

Doctor problem:

Docs (in USA) pay up to 30% of their revenue on malpractice insurance. In 80% of cases, the doc did everything "standard/right" but is still having to settle or go to court when things inevitably go wrong.

Half-baked (creepy?) solution: When you enter the doc's office, they ask if you would like a video-recording of the visit emailed to you afterwards. If you say, "Yes", then you get a record, & can review the tape & understand/research how to get healthy better.

Also, if you say, "Yes", then the video goes into your medical file.

If, then, you sue the doc for malpractice, the other docs subscribed to this service can peer-review the video & files, to offer "friends of the court" viewpoints on whether the doc did everything according to standards, & you were just "unlucky", or indeed that he screwed up & should be kicked in the arse, hard.

Docs who subscribe, would volunteer 1 hour per month to anonymously review those rare cases (in their specialty & country only). They'd do this as they know that they would get the benefit.

Also, malpractice insurance claims should drop severely, and the premiums/costs should drop accordingly.
-- sophocles, Feb 05 2014

A better solution would be to ensure that countersuits are brought automatically against all malpractice claims, by the relevant health authority.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 05 2014


Hi sophy, long time no see. I like your idea, and understand that M.D. intimidation-like stupor that takes over us when seeing the doc sometimes. This would help us by having a reference to the visit. +
-- blissmiss, Feb 06 2014


[+] A simple solution is to take a small mp3 recorder in to your visits. Later on you can review the tape, look up words in the dictionary, have an audio specialist translate the mumbling, etc. I'm not sure a video would be an improvement unless it's part of the examination, focused on the foot the size of a watermelon, or tarantula happily nesting in the navel.
-- FlyingToaster, Feb 06 2014


The problem is in cases of actual malpractice the videos would get "accidentally" deleted.
-- Voice, Feb 06 2014


Great idea, but I am skeptical. I'm reminded of a patient who went ballistic one night around 3 A.M. on the medical ward. Seems she was bored and decided to read her chart from the foot of her bed.

She was demanding that her nurse be fired and she was going to sue the hospital. I did my best to calm her down and try to understand the kerfuffle. She said the nurse was calling her horrible names!

Me: "Okay, what did she call you?"

Her: "She wrote in my chart that I was a little son-of- a-bitch!"

Me: "Did she write that EXACTLY in the notes?"

Her: "No, she wrote that I was a little SOB!"

Me: "Were you having BREATHING problems earlier?"

Her: "Yes, I was a little short of breath."

<cue the Jeopardy theme song> Long pause...

Her: "Oh! Never mind..."
-- Klaatu, Feb 06 2014


Bliss: thanks. I miss the HB but am never gone entirely.

FlyingToaster: Yes, audio's good enough sometimes. Video is just better esp. if a visual diagnosis is involved, or a procedure done. (Surgery Dash Cam)

Voice: Good catch. How about we store it all on the cloud, & nothing is deletable.

Klaatu: Glad it worked out!

Yes, the reason this is only half-baked is that there are so many psychological reasons & strange people/scenarios where the video could be taken out of context wrong, by f'd up people, making things worse.
-- sophocles, Feb 06 2014


There needs to be an escrow-type system for this - independent archival. Be good for ATOS interviews too, as if that would ever happen.
-- nineteenthly, Feb 06 2014


Perhaps the records could only be accessed with the explicit permission of both the doctor and the patient. (and court order of course)
-- AusCan531, Feb 07 2014


I think a lot of malpractice is not about action but inaction. Doc should have done x, should have ordered x, missed chance to act on x.
-- bungston, Feb 07 2014


// I'm not a huge fan of cloud-based storage for really important stuff. //

I'm not either, nor am I a huge fan of cloud-based storage for confidential medical records; I have a hard enough time with various MDs emailing each other about me.
-- Alterother, Feb 07 2014


Hmm, could lead to over-investigation is how I take that, [bungston].
-- nineteenthly, Feb 08 2014


No-one gets sued for over investigation. It is the pillar of defensive medicine.
-- bungston, Feb 08 2014


Exactly.
-- nineteenthly, Feb 11 2014



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