IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v305y2022ics0277953622003446.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“You become a slightly better doctor”: Doctors adopting integrated medical expertise through interactions with E-patients

Author

Listed:
  • Shachar, Leeor

Abstract

The accessibility of information via the internet has radically altered the doctor–patient relationship. By means of in-depth interviews with Israeli physicians from four different specialties, this study explored how physicians cope with internet-informed patients, referred to as e-patients, and examined how they make sense of their new professional roles. Findings show that three types of boundaries in the doctor–patient relationship have been blurred by the emergence of the e-patient: the boundaries between doctors' and patients' knowledge, between doctors' authority and patients' autonomy, and between positivistic knowledge and humanistic knowledge. Each of these is a boundary between liberal and non-liberal values. Only the combination of all these components produces, according to the participants, a good doctor. I call this new phenomenon integrated medical expertise and explain how it diverges from previous notions of ‘good doctoring’.

Suggested Citation

  • Shachar, Leeor, 2022. "“You become a slightly better doctor”: Doctors adopting integrated medical expertise through interactions with E-patients," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:305:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622003446
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115038
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953622003446
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115038?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xyrichis, Andreas & Lowton, Karen & Rafferty, Anne Marie, 2017. "Accomplishing professional jurisdiction in intensive care: An ethnographic study of three units," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 102-111.
    2. Fiske, Amelia & Buyx, Alena & Prainsack, Barbara, 2020. "The double-edged sword of digital self-care: Physician perspectives from Northern Germany," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    3. Goldenberg, Maya J., 2006. "On evidence and evidence-based medicine: Lessons from the philosophy of science," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(11), pages 2621-2632, June.
    4. Drennan, Vari M. & Gabe, Jonathon & Halter, Mary & de Lusignan, Simon & Levenson, Ros, 2017. "Physician associates in primary health care in England: A challenge to professional boundaries?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 9-16.
    5. Tate, Alexandra, 2020. "Invoking death: How oncologists discuss a deadly outcome," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    6. Mizrachi, Nissim & Shuval, Judith T., 2005. "Between formal and enacted policy: changing the contours of boundaries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(7), pages 1649-1660, April.
    7. Heritage, John & McArthur, Amanda, 2019. "The diagnostic moment: A study in US primary care," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 262-271.
    8. Ziebland, Sue, 2004. "The importance of being expert: the quest for cancer information on the Internet," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(9), pages 1783-1793, November.
    9. Deml, Michael J. & Buhl, Andrea & Notter, Julia & Kliem, Paulina & Huber, Benedikt M. & Pfeiffer, Constanze & Burton-Jeangros, Claudine & Tarr, Philip E., 2020. "‘Problem patients and physicians’ failures': What it means for doctors to counsel vaccine hesitant patients in Switzerland," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    10. Lupton, Deborah, 1997. "Consumerism, reflexivity and the medical encounter," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 373-381, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stacey, Clare Louise & Henderson, Stuart & MacArthur, Kelly R. & Dohan, Daniel, 2009. "Demanding patient or demanding encounter?: A case study of a cancer clinic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 729-737, September.
    2. Sinding, Christina & Hudak, Pamela & Wiernikowski, Jennifer & Aronson, Jane & Miller, Pat & Gould, Judy & Fitzpatrick-Lewis, Donna, 2010. ""I like to be an informed person but..." negotiating responsibility for treatment decisions in cancer care," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(6), pages 1094-1101, September.
    3. Locock, Louise & Nettleton, Sarah & Kirkpatrick, Susan & Ryan, Sara & Ziebland, Sue, 2016. "‘I knew before I was told’: Breaches, cues and clues in the diagnostic assemblage," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 85-92.
    4. Setti Rais Ali & Paul Dourgnon & Lise Rochaix, 2018. "Social Capital or Education: What Matters Most to Cut Time to Diagnosis?," Working Papers halshs-01703170, HAL.
    5. Cavanagh, Alice & Shamsheri, Tahmina & Shen, Katrina & Gaber, Jessica & Liauw, Jessica & Vanstone, Meredith & Kouyoumdjian, Fiona, 2022. "Lived experiences of pregnancy and prison through a reproductive justice lens: A qualitative meta-synthesis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    6. Pedersen, Line Bjørnskov & Allen, Thomas & Waldorff, Frans Boch & Andersen, Merethe Kirstine Kousgaard, 2020. "Does accreditation affect the job satisfaction of general practitioners? A combined panel data survey and cluster randomised field experiment," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(8), pages 849-855.
    7. Dyer, Thomas Anthony & Owens, Janine & Robinson, Peter Glenn, 2014. "The acceptability of care delegation in skill-mix: The salience of trust," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(2), pages 170-178.
    8. Ewa Malchrowicz-Mośko & Joanna Poczta, 2018. "Running as a Form of Therapy Socio-Psychological Functions of Mass Running Events for Men and Women," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-15, October.
    9. Nigam, Amit, 2012. "Changing health care quality paradigms: The rise of clinical guidelines and quality measures in American medicine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(11), pages 1933-1937.
    10. Hunt, Joanne Elizabeth, 2022. "Making space for disability studies within a structurally competent medical curriculum: Reflections on Long Covid," SocArXiv p9qyk, Center for Open Science.
    11. Kris Hoang & Steven E. Salterio & Jim Sylph, 2018. "Barriers to Transferring Auditing Research to Standard Setters," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(3), pages 427-452, September.
    12. Sarah D Howarth & Judith Johnson & Helen E Millott & Jane K O’Hara, 2020. "The early experiences of Physician Associate students in the UK: A regional cross-sectional study investigating factors associated with engagement," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(5), pages 1-13, May.
    13. Matthew Tieu & Michael Lawless & Sarah C. Hunter & Maria Alejandra Pinero de Plaza & Francis Darko & Alexandra Mudd & Lalit Yadav & Alison Kitson, 2023. "Wicked problems in a post-truth political economy: a dilemma for knowledge translation," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-11, December.
    14. Copelton, Denise A. & Valle, Giuseppina, 2009. ""You don't need a prescription to go gluten-free": The scientific self-diagnosis of celiac disease," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(4), pages 623-631, August.
    15. Stevenson, Fiona A. & Seguin, Maureen & Leydon-Hudson, Geraldine & Barnes, Rebecca & Ziebland, Sue & Pope, Catherine & Murray, Elizabeth & Atherton, Helen, 2021. "Combining patient talk about internet use during primary care consultations with retrospective accounts. A qualitative analysis of interactional and interview data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    16. Pedersen, Pia Vivian & Hjelmar, Ulf & Høybye, Mette Terp & Rod, Morten Hulvej, 2017. "Can inequality be tamed through boundary work? A qualitative study of health promotion aimed at reducing health inequalities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 1-8.
    17. Gutin, Iliya, 2022. "Not ‘putting a name to it’: Managing uncertainty in the diagnosis of childhood obesity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    18. Duran, Eduardo, 2021. "Diagnostic slippage: Medical uncertainty and engaged patienthood in the case of atypical disorders," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    19. Mackintosh, Nicola & Gong, Qian (Sarah) & Hadjiconstantinou, Michelle & Verdezoto, Nervo, 2021. "Digital mediation of candidacy in maternity care: Managing boundaries between physiology and pathology," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    20. Prussing, Erica & Sobo, Elisa J. & Walker, Elizabeth & Kurtin, Paul S., 2005. "Between 'desperation' and disability rights: a narrative analysis of complementary/alternative medicine use by parents for children with Down syndrome," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 587-598, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:305:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622003446. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.