Sites like WebMD taking work away from doctors?

Question

Are sites like WebMD taking work away from doctors at all? Is the internet slowly making many professions obsolete? I ask because I plan to be a doctor in about 10 years and it worries me, will I virtually be out of a job by the time I get my MD? What will all the knowledge I gain be worth when anyone who's in a pain or has a bad rash can just look up what's wrong with them and what they can do. I do realize my fears are exaggerated, but it still worries me.

Answer 1

WebMD can't write out prescriptions. And WebMD can't accurately diagnose illness...the person basically self diagnoses.

So if a person incorrectly self-diagnoses, then a real doc is needed all the more to deal with the damage from waiting to see the doc or trying to self-treat.

We will always need doctors!

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

No, in fact with the influx of baby boomers, and the longevity of the elderly these days there will probably be a shortage of doctors in 10 years. Sounds like a promising future as it always is for the medical field.

Answer 4

no, but you have to be ready to deal with an informed public.



For decades prior to the internet, people went to their local pharmacy to ask medical questions. Oftentimes the pharmacist told them they needed to see a doctor, and it made the patient better prepared to talk with their doctor.



Where I live most of the doctors are working out of one clinic. The do it so they can get healthcare benefits, but the clinic fixes prices, so many of the middle class cannot even see a doctor.

Answer 5

no more people go to drs because of them most people who read them get more scared as a rash can be anything