I’m worried about the future.  Everyone I know is stressed.  Patients fail to follow up as directed.  They fail to take their medications as directed.  They have too much to do.  Their priority lists are in shambles.

With all the responsibilities that today’s multitasking society thrust on my patients, they don’t even have the time to pick up the phone and call each other; instead, they text, IM, SMS, and email.  More and more of my patients are resorting to the phone and email to communicate their needs.  Every time I figure out how to block my patients from having email access, they find a way around the roadblock.  The more I rebuke the practice of phone medicine, the harder they plead to be treated over the phone.

Since I am tech savvy and use the Internet and this blog to deliver my message to the masses, you would think I would embrace cyber-medicine.  I don’t!  I think cyber-medicine is fraught with danger.

I also think society’s dependence on the Internet and texting is dangerous as well.  Communication is an art and humans are losing the ability to truly communicate.  The art of communicating is more than just interpreting the written or audible word.  The art of communication is highly dependent on the visual cues, on intonations, and other intangibles.

Modern day cyber-communications are relatively anonymous.  They are devoid of the cues that, in a personal, face to face conversation, relay the true message behind the words.  The anonymity of the cyberworld seems to disinhibit people, encouraging them to take stances they would never take in a personal world.  One author I have read puts it this way, “Anonymity allows the primordial juices to flow with little if any consequence.”  It also leads to frequent misunderstandings.

As the world becomes less personal, more stressed, and time crunched, cyber-medicine is going to become a more attractive option for many.  The movement towards cyber-medicine is underway.

I, for one, am strongly against cyber-medicine.  When it comes to maintaining your health, diagnosing disease and treating you, your doc needs to be a true artist, using every cue available to understand what you are saying and what you need.  In prior articles, I have mentioned that my exam begins the moment I see you coming down the hall.  Your demeanor and gait are full of clues.  The warmth of your greeting, the strength of your handshake, and your posture can never be communicated electronically.  The “I don’t get it” expression is an essential that is missed in a text message.  I’M TYPING IN CAPS DOES NOT MEAN THAT I AM SHOUTING, it means I hit the cap key by accident.

So, please don’t call trying to avoid a visit with your doc.  Diagnosing what ails you is hard enough in person, impossible over the phone.  Emails are the worst; your doc can’t even hear the clues your voice has to offer.  “I’m fine” has a different meaning when your voice cracks and you are crying.

What the Internet is good for is telling stories to the masses.  Even then, what I write is open to interpretation and misinterpretation.  My blog is meant to help you help yourself.  Be happy and healthy.  If you are not, pay a personal visit to your doc.

Stewart Segal is a family physician who blogs at Livewellthy.org.

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