Where are all the doctors?

[Imajerk]

Hi. Why are there so few doctor forums for common problems? The breast cancer issue does not have a doctor forum! Yet there are plenty of doctor forums for pets!!!!!

I love animals but really, this is not good.

Communities are wonderful but when people are left to depend on non-medical personnel for answers it can lead to misunderstandings and fear sometimes too.  We need good professionals to step up! PLEASE!!!

[Emily_MHManager]

Are you on your computer or your phone when you see it?

Thanks,

Em

[Dee1956]

Sorry I could not capture it, it is just the ad with the MedHelp logo in the left hand corner, sorry.  I guess it is not important

[Dee1956]

Oh ok, I will try asap, it is the 24 X 7 ask a doctor takes up entire screen for 10 seconds, then you can close it

[Emily_MHManager]

Dee -

Can you take a screen shot of the ad and send it to the mods? We'd appreciate it. You can also send Cheryl or the mods an email at any time.

Thanks,

Em

[Dee1956]

p.s. Did I mention that the ad takes up the entire page? it can be closed after 10 seconds.

[SurfsideGal]

YOU are anything but a jerk. thanks for a great post.

[Dee1956]

When I do a search for MH, this is what I find to describe it

Find a Doctor to answer your medical questions, or find health information from our health communities. MedHelp has hundreds of forums for medical ...

[Dee1956]

Hi I agree that they need to change the information that states that there are medical professionals here to answer your questions.
If you do a search for Med Help it tells you there are doctors here to answer questions and they have been gone for almost a year.  False advertising.

Another thing that just happened to me, I had not been on here in a few days.  When I first clicked on MH , it did not recognize me as a member. I got a pop up add from MH telling me about the 24X7 doctors.  If I were not a member , if I were brand new, I might have thought that was a MH doctor.

Thank you for bringing this up.  I came on here to say something and you had done it for me, thank you, Dee

[Imajerk]

Sorry but it's not "medical" help really. It's a huge online support group.

Have a nice day.

[Emily_MHManager]

Hi there -

It is still support and information, and the name is still appropriate, at least in our opinion. For sure, there are limitations when not having doctors on the site, but as you stated, there are limitations when doctors answers, too.

We were disappointed when the doctor forums had to close, but we do have really excellent members in all of our communities (including our pet communities) who can help guide you through a medical issue. This shouldn't replace working with a doctor/veterinarian, but we believe it's at least a great starting place.

Thanks for sharing your feedback!

Emily

[Imajerk]

Claire I'm really sorry to hear that. Although many "peers" proffer themselves as medical experts, I cannot tell you how many physicians dread hearing "I went online and heard" blah blah. I imagine  a lot of people who have battled disease and really did a lot of research, or perhaps even are medical personnel who contribute freely without disclosing themselves as nurses and so on, are contributing,

However, when hearing from peers  you risk getting opinions that are missing the objectivity and true medical knowledge of a physician. There are pros and cons to each type of advice. You may get support from a peer in the form of empathy, and you may get good tips from people who know the limits of medical personnel and drug businesses; some doctors are more about the patients than others ( as opposed to covering their butts legally) after all.

But, sometimes you really need a doctor, because peers can come from places too high in emotion and too low in rationale, and can skew some of the facts they have learned in the wrong direction. The knowledge can be incomplete. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

So I guess "MedHelp" is really more of a support group place now than a place for true medical advice? Maybe the name should be changed.

[Claire_MHModerator]

Hi there,

In June 2014, MedHelp discontinued its "Ask a Doctor" Forums following its merger with Physicians Interactive, Inc., a provider of mobile clinical resources for healthcare providers.  Despite its success in serving as an important resource for our members, MedHelp is unable at this time to continue offering this service due to regulatory restrictions.  We appreciate the work our experts have provided to date and will continue to offer our support communities where members can receive peer support from our community leaders, along with other users.  Our "Ask a Doctor" Forums will also remain as a resource through user search of its archived expert Q&A.

Claire

[Imajerk]

BTW, I am Imajerk here again and the "Ask a doctor" link is not a great substitute. You have NO idea who you are being sent to and don't get the benefit of reviewing this person's answers prior to deciding to pay. You should be able to see if a person is worth getting out the credit card first.

Some medical professionals just copy and paste the same old paragraphs over and over with standardized answers. That's really not worth paying for. The first time I came here, an HIV professional was tailoring responses and doing a great job. He told people to get tested but gave good estimations on risk.  He was quite comforting with his rational approach.

What's so hard about that?