Why Patients Know More About Cars Than Peripheral Artery Disease

Americans who are interested in purchasing a motor vehicle often investigate automobile manufacturers, car models, and even competitive pricing using the World Wide Web. When one uses an Internet search engine to investigate Toyota, the largest automobile manufacturer in the world, there are >93 000 000 results. Virtually every possible question one would have about a Toyota vehicle is discoverable before ever visiting a local Toyota dealership.Article see p 1812One would anticipate that physicians have a similar luxury. A patient presents with exertional discomfort in the calf that promptly resolves with rest. The patient struggles with her diet, is 30 pounds overweight, is on several medications for her high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and has been told that she has “prediabetes.” With the continued comparisons between Toyota LEAN (a practice which adds value to any process by limiting waste) mechanics and healthcare, patients likely anticipate that a physician would enter this history in a search engine and uncover the diagnosis. In fact, it is anticipated that many healthcare systems will use this type of E-diagnostic strategy for many disorders in the not too distant future.Unfortunately, despite IBM Watson’s1 correct diagnosis of intermittent claudication attributable to peripheral artery disease (PAD), the information …