A doctor revealed why your GP might ask if you’ve Googled your symptoms (Image: Getty)
A GP has shared a Google question he asks his patients. The expert explained that this can help him get to the root of the problem.
Many of us will contact our GP surgery if we are experiencing a health issue. However, this doesn’t guarantee an instant or correct diagnosis.
Symptoms can be hard to catch or confused for a different problem, for example. To help speed up the process Doctor Suraj Kukadia shared some of his techniques.
Dr Kukadia, who is best known as Dr Sooj, took to social media platform TikTok to explain.
Responding to a commenter, he said that he will ask patients if they have “Googled” their symptoms.
He said: “As part of my history taking, I do ask my patients sometimes have you Googled your symptoms? Is there anything that you’re worried about?
“Is there something that you would like me to tackle head on that you’re really concerned about that might be causing your symptoms? Is there a potential diagnosis that you think could be happening?”
This can help him better understand the patient’s concerns, he said. Dr Sooj continued: “Because it just means that I can really focus my history down on the things that I’m worried about, but also the thing that the patient’s worried about.
“If I don’t ask questions like, what do you think is going on, what are you worried about, what are you hoping that we do, then what if my agenda or the thing that I’m worried about for the patient is completely different to what they’re worried about? Then they don’t feel heard, and they think I’ve dismissed their symptoms.”
He added: “And look, even though you may not Google your symptoms, great. A lot of my patients do, and a lot of patients in general will Google their symptoms, so I have to incorporate that into my history taking.”
Speaking previously on TikTok, Dr Sooj also delved into why GPs can end up asking you questions that could be answered by reading all your medical notes. He acknowledged this can be “frustrating”.
He told his followers: “That can feel really dismissive, and it can feel like they haven’t even done the basics. Honestly, this will be as much of a letdown for the doctor as it is for you.”
However, he shared that 10-minute appointment times often mean that GPs don’t have time to read through a patient’s entire file, as they only have a short amount of time to speak to you, listen to your concerns and make a plan for how to treat you. Dr Sooj said: “In real terms, that means you get about six or seven minutes, max.
“So when a doctor asks you something that’s already in your record, it’s not because they don’t care. It’s usually because they haven’t had time to read through everything, or they want to hear it from you in your own words.
“Under a system that’s under this much pressure, it’s not always possible to give every patient’s backstory the time it deserves before the consult starts. I think it’s a fair question to ask, especially if your GP doesn’t know you well. But I also think it’s fair to explain that most of us wish we had more time to spend with you.”
