Technology is rapidly changing the face of modern medicine.

A recent Medscape / WebMD survey, called the Digital Technology Survey, showed that many American patients and doctors enjoy using the new features.

The survey of authoritative online publications included 1,100 patients and 1,400 health care professionals, including 827 doctors.

Questions covered topics such as the evolution of medical care, the use of smartphones in the diagnostic process, access to electronic medical records, comparison of prices for medical services, genetic tests, the risk of exposure in diagnostic tests.

Dr. Eric Topol, editor-in-chief of Medscape and a senior fellow at Scripps Health, says that this report is unique. So far, such a large-scale survey has not been conducted, during which they would ask the same questions to doctors and patients, comparing their attitude to new technologies in medicine.

"Technology actually democratized all aspects of physician visits to patients," says Dr. Topol.

Today, patients can use a smartphone to monitor blood sugar levels. Soon applications and gadgets will allow you to monitor the level of cholesterol, and even the electrical activity of the heart. Instead of constant, sometimes unnecessary, visits to the doctor and the delivery of tests, people will be able to obtain basic data about their health with the help of handheld devices, and then forward them to the doctor for interpretation.

The Internet survey showed:.

• 84% of patients and 69% of doctors say they are already using new technologies in the diagnostic process.

• 64% of patients and 63% of doctors agree that a smartphone is a useful diagnostic tool, including for analysis.

About 40% of patients are well aware of the idea of ??using a smartphone to check health without unnecessary visits to the doctor, but only 17% of doctors consider the use of smartphones for this purpose to be correct.

What are the common doctors and patients?.

In addition to thinking about new technologies, there is another area in which doctors and patients agree with each other. About 100% of doctors and patients say that patients should have the right to know the full cost of the medical procedure before it is appointed.

The overwhelming majority of respondents agree that patients should have access to the prices of procedures from different medical providers, that is, they should be able to compare prices. Although only 50% of doctors say that they are ready to compete in price with other doctors.

Practically all doctors and patients say that they support genetic tests, for example, for diagnosing diseases in the fetus, identifying and treating diseases, and also predicting the side effects of drugs.

What do the opinions of doctors and patients differ?.

Disagreements begin when it comes to medical records, periodic inspection and risk of exposure.

Almost all patients and doctors agree that patients have the right to review their medical history. But there is no agreement on who owns these medical records: 54% of patients believe that the records belong to them, and 39% of doctors say that the records made by the doctor belong to the hospital (doctor).

It is very difficult and from a legal point of view. According to US law, doctors and hospitals work with "own" medical records, but the information that they contain is considered the property of the patient. Both federal and state laws give the patient the right to access and verify their medical records, usually within 30 days of a written request.

Dr. Topol believes that patients need to take the habit of making copies of the medical history for themselves, and always store them.

"Patients should own their own copy of medical records. Own and store just in case, "- says the researcher.

Most doctors and patients say that annual medical examinations, when doctors check healthy people for signs of illness, are necessary. Poplar says it's a surprise, because the latest national leaders questioned the need for such inspections. Studies have shown that examinations and some tests that go along with them can sometimes do more harm to the patient without complaints and symptoms than to benefit him.

Differences were also found in questions of damage to radiation during medical procedures. Only 19% of patients say that they are very concerned about the level of exposure in radiography, mammography and angiography, and 38% of patients do not worry about it at all.

At the same time, 32% of doctors are very worried about the risks associated with these procedures, and only a small percentage of doctors treat it calmly.

"Patients are not aware of the problem of radiation exposure, and this is a big surprise for us," - summed up Topol. The doctor says that health authorities should focus on informing the public about certain types of procedures and the risks associated with them.

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