Hello steemian , let me make it simple and strait for you , i am a doctor and i see potential in steemit , to do more than any social media . why not opening a steemit clinic when any medical advice seeker can reach out for a doctor in a seconds ?
In 2013 we started a non profit facebook page for free medical consultation mainly for Sudanese people , named Sudanese doctor online , check it in the link .
click here
I didn't think this page will be very helpful but we received hundreds of private message for consultation not really need seeing a doctor , like a query about diseases , second opinion , reassurance and medication use .
sure some need to be seen by doctor for clinical assessment and investigation , in this case we urge them to see a doctor immediately and guide them through it . that made many people who not planning to see a doctor at all , change their mind and seek medical advice .
So i think online clinic is helpful depending on that experience and specially if there is easy payment method ( thank to steemit ) .
it will cost more money , time and effort if the patient went for simple consultation , to take an appointment , drive to hospital and wait for their turn .
Online clinic is a great solution for patient saving time , money and effort and for doctor who can offer his consultation charged or free .
but i need you to discuss some point
1 - about the all proposal , is it helpful and if so is it applicable?
2 - doctor - medical advice seeker confidentiality .
3 - medico-legal principle .
4 - spam and fraud doctor problem .
5 – programmer and IT people thoughts about it .
How to do it
My proposal is to start blogging in a tag ( steemitclinic ) .
Type of clinics
1 - Open clinic : simply a blog about specific disease like Hypertension , any one can ask anything about it
Advantage : it will be helpful for steemit community because most question tend to be repeated , patient can be anonymous ( doctor cant ) , can be free because the blogger can be paid by upvote , you can find a good information about medical condition in one blog and all topic in one tag ( steemitclinic ) . Also if you have chronic condition like SLE , you can find people with same disease and build a community .
Disadvantage : no privacy for the patient , that will be a problem specially if the blog was about sensitive topic . some patient want to discuss their condition in privet .
2- closed clinic : that need a direct private contact steemit chat or video chat
Advantage : private and doctor are obligate to maintain patient confidentiality , direct so patient can talk freely with doctor and ask many question .
Disadvantage : need other account , patient cant be anonymous , need payment by steem or SD , need both doctor and patient to be online at same time . Although closed clinic look more suitable for most , i think it need time to be applicable , maybe can initiated after some steemit development and community grow more .
Problem must be solved
Both clinics will be without central regulation , how to protect steemian from spam or a fraud doctor doctor ?
to solve this I think we can
1 - ask for certificates
there is many organization provide a certificate verification
like Data flow , USMLE , GMC , IMC ,, etc
2 - endorsement from trusted person , simply you know some who know the doctor personally .
3 – if doctor is unknown and unverified to you but with good reputations , still you can take an advice with safe net , do not take any prescribed medication or do expensive investigation .
4 – if he/she is a fraud flag him , problem solved
I hope the idea is clear now , it need evaluation and editing by you , I think we need programmer and IT people to help us establish first successful online clinic .
- after discussion , if the proposal accepted by majority , i will add in my status ( doctor work in steemit clinic )
- i will start blogging in the new tag (steemitclinic) every weekend
- i will try my best to reach out for doctor in steemit and encourage them to join
Steemit , we will grow as a community
