ePatient Movement

The World Wide Web is not called the information superhighway for nothing. The Internet has given over a billion people access to any type of information they want in a matter of seconds. Many of these people have become e-patients, a term coined to Internet consumers who use the Web to gather information about medical conditions, health insurance and health care they are most interested in.

Internet Patients are both those people that suffer ailments, and the family and friends that support them. The Internet has allowed these e-patients to seek guidance, remedies, research symptoms, as well as participate in educational forums, and share experiences through support groups. You, here reading this are probably an e-patient, or have taken part in these behaviors, seeing as you are on this site.

The initiative taken by e-patients makes them proactive health consumers, giving them greater information on treatment methods, costs of health care services, find health insurance quotes online, even find the cheapest pharmacy to buy prescription or over-the-counter drugs. To some health care providers, this poses a slight problem when a patient thinks they know more than their primary care physician.

The e-patient movement is comprised of being “equipped, enabled, empowered, engaged, equals, and emancipated” according to Wikipedia .

Equipped – having the tools, (a computer, smartphone) to find information online and manage their condition with what they learn.

Enabled – having the means to manage their health care; where they receive it, what type of care they get.

Empowered – this new patient feels a sense of knowledge on medical topics, making them better able to communicate with health care professionals about their symptoms and treatment methods they would prefer.

Engaged – e-patients are equipped with information they receive online, with the latest in technologies, practices and medications, so they can be better engaged in their personal encounters with doctors.

Equals – the feeling of being equal to a physician in knowledge and competence, which poses a problem in some patient-doctor relationships.

Emancipated – patients feel freed from the traditional practice of medicine because of the information they have available to them online. Perhaps they don’t need to see a doctor or can seek other alternatives to their care.

The knowledgeable consumer makes for a larger and more open dialogue about health care practices. Inevitably, doctors are confronted with patients who expect more out of their appointments and health care dollars. Read more about a doctor’s perspective on e-patients and e-doctors.