Paging Dr. Within E-Book

Tom Garz

• Herausgeber: TG Ideas LLC
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

As a Patient -

• Would you like a "Patient Listener"?
• Are you tired of Medicine/Treatment "Trial and Error", at your expense?
• Are you tired of being shuffled from one Doctor to another?
• Do you want to "get better" and "stay better"?

As a Doctor –

• Would you like more good information from Patients, relevant to their symptoms?
• Would you like to help Patients "get better" and "stay better"?
• Are you open to venturing out of your "comfort zone" in diagnosing and treating patients?
• Do you sometimes wonder if there is more to diagnosing/treating than what you were taught in Medical School?

As a Health/Medical Innovator, Inventor, Engineer, Writer, other Creative Person –

• Are you looking for some new ideas?
• Would you like to "Interface" with the "Dr. Within" each of us?

As an Insurance Company -

• Would you like to "pay out" less?

If you answered yes to any of the above, maybe this book is for you.

This book describes the Concepts of a "Patient Listener" and a "Super Symptom Checker" – Human, Computer, and/or Computer-Assisted Human – Considering the "Big Picture" around Health and/or Symptoms.

This book is about 250 pages, a little over half written text. The remainder contains many Reference Links, from which you can build upon and learn from.

The author of this book has set up Discussion Groups for this book to help others share, network, collaborate, etc.

***
Use of the Information in this book may help the Patient, Doctor, and/or Others "Get Better".
Some common Side Effects may include:

• A better understanding of what affects Health and Symptoms,
• Seeing the big picture surrounding Symptoms,
• Better health, less dependence on medication/treatment, generally "feeling better",
• Experiencing less perceived stress, more contentment with self and life,
• Perceiving more control of your life, in general, realizing there are always options no matter what,
• New insights on what could be done to make "it" better.

Note - Continued Use of the Information in this book may result in "Staying Better".
Ask your Doctor if "Getting Better" and "Staying Better" are right for you. :-)
 

Leseprobe

Paging Dr. Within: How to Become, Be, and/or Make a “Patient Listener” and/or a “Super Symptom Checker”

Tom Garz

Published by TG Ideas LLC, 2020.

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

PAGING DR. WITHIN: HOW TO BECOME, BE, AND/OR MAKE A “PATIENT LISTENER” AND/OR A “SUPER SYMPTOM CHECKER”

First edition. March 16, 2020.

Copyright © 2020 Tom Garz.

Written by Tom Garz.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Disclaimers

Acknowledgments and Dedication Page

How to Use This or Most any E-Book

Introduction

Chapter 1 – What affects Health Symptoms?

Chapter 2 - Looking at the Bigger Picture – | Mind, Body, Spirit

Chapter 3 - Special Chapter on Stress

Chapter 4 – What’s been Done Before – Past and Present – and What Else Could be Done - “Patient Listener”

Chapter 5 – What’s been Done Before – Past and Present – Symptom Checkers and Differential Diagnosis Generators

Chapter 6 – What Else Could Be Done – Ideas, Concepts, Future – Computerized “Patient Listener” and/or Computerized “Super Symptom Checker” - General, Features, Appearance, Format, Etc.

Chapter 7 – What Else Could Be Done? – Ideas, Concepts, Future – Computerized Super Symptom Checker – Inputs

Chapter 8 – Special Chapter on “Getting to know YOU”

Chapter 9 – What Else Could Be Done? – Ideas, Concepts, Future – Computerized Super Symptom Checker - Outputs

Chapter 10 - How to Become and/or Be a “Patient Listener" and/or “Super Symptom Checker”

Chapter 11 - How to Make a Computerized Patient Listener and/or Super Symptom Checker

Chapter 12 - Implementation – Helpers and/or Hindrances

Chapter 13 – Conclusion

Epilogue

Appendix - Chapter References, Search Strings, Other Useful Information

Sign up for Tom Garz's Mailing List

Also By Tom Garz

About the Author

About the Publisher

Disclaimers

Use of the Information in this book may help the Patient, Doctor, and/or Others “Get Better”.

Some common Side Effects may include:

A better understanding of what affects Health and Symptoms,

Seeing the big picture surrounding Symptoms,

Better health, less dependence on medication/treatment, generally “feeling better”,

Experiencing less perceived stress, more contentment with self and life,

Perceiving more control of

your

life, in general, realizing there are always options no matter what,

New insights on what could be done to make “it” better.

Note - Continued Use of the Information in this book may result in “Staying Better”.

Ask your Doctor if “Getting Better” and “Staying Better” are right for you.  ☺

********************

Seriously though....

This book is for information only and is not advice of any kind, especially not Medical and/or Legal Advice.  The author of this book is a Non-Professional.  Seek professional advice, as needed.  This book is meant to help, but using this information is at your own risk.  The author of this book has made efforts to make sure the referenced information is/was correct when the book was published.  Efforts were also made to avoid plagiarism in this book by the writer.  Any reference to any specific product or service is for information or example only and does not constitute or imply any endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by TG Ideas LLC.  TG Ideas LLC does not assume any liability to anyone and hereby disclaims any loss, damage, disruption from any errors, omissions, perceived or actual unintentional plagiarism, whether such are caused by negligence, accident, or any other means.  Additional Disclaimers are at https://sites.google.com/site/tgideas/ideas-for-products-or-services/disclaimer

Acknowledgments and Dedication Page

I really don’t know who wrote this book.  I just typed what was in my head.  It might sound like I know what I’m writing about, but I really don’t.  I’m not a Healthcare Professional or really a Professional Anything.  It seemed like I got insights from my Research and maybe from the “Great Beyond” and/or “Universal Consciousness”.  Anyhow, I’d like to thank all those who gave me the inspiration to write this book and the words to put in it, wherever and whoever they are.

I’d also like to thank all those who crossed my path in my life – all of them had Health – some had good health, some had not so good health.  I think I learned from them over the years and this knowledge is woven in this book.

Thanks also to the Universe for providing me with a good Technical Education, Experience, and Knowledge which is sprinkled in this book – and the Imagination to see “What Else Could Be Done” and/or “How it Might be Better”

Thanks to those who provided a base on which to build, e.g. “What’s Been Done Before”.

I’d also like to thank the many Healthcare Professionals who have helped me in my life – either directly or indirectly. 

Thanks also to my family and friends who continuously support, care, and encourage me.

Do I have everyone?  I hope so. 

********************

This Book is Dedicated to...

Sick People who want to get better – and stay better.  In addition, Sick People who don’t want to stay sick – and get sicker.

Doctors, Therapists, and others Helping Sick People get better – and stay better.

Patients who think no one listens to them.

Doctors, Therapists, and other Healthcare Professionals who want to be

even better

Doctors, Therapists, and other Healthcare Professionals.

Inventors, Engineers, Researchers, Sic/Tech Geeks, etc. –

Who want to make Devices, Apps, etc. to Diagnose and Treat the Body, Mind, Spirit – all at once;

Who want to make Devices, Apps, etc. to “Listen”, especially to Patients seeking Health Help.

Writers, Authors, etc. looking for fodder for their own writings.

Those who are looking to decrease Healthcare Spending, Minimize Medicine/Treatment Usage, and/or Maximize the Innate Healing Power of Patients.

Those trying to help all the sick people around the world using what the sick people have at hand – striving for free/low-cost Healthcare, 24/7, etc.

Those who want to peer into the possible future of Healthcare.

Those in Healthcare who might be interested and/or affected by new Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Empowered

Patient Participation

, those who

self-diagnose

(all of us ☺), etc.

Medical Students, Doctors, Patients who think there is more to Healthcare than what was taught, shown, and/or told.

Doctors who see me at my worst, struggling to figure out what I’m trying to say, review my history, and make sense out of me and my symptoms – even though there’s probably “more to the story”. 

To me, since I think it could be better – and I can only do so much myself.

How to Use This or Most any E-Book

Did you know you can use e-books in many ways, other than just reading from an e-book reader?

Yes, you can read my e-book on most any e-book reader.  I hope you like it and find it helpful.

You can print out a copy to use alongside my e-book, though the printout won’t have the hyperlinks that are in my e-book.  In addition, the print layout might not look the same, but it might suit your purposes. 

You could manage my e-book for your purposes with the open-source tool,

Calibre

. 

You can add your own personal notes and highlighting to my e-book, for your use, depending on which e-book reader you are using.

The hyperlinks were known to work at the time of publication. 

Due to the ever-changing environment of the Internet, the links might not work in the future. 

If this happens, simply copy the text and put quotes around the copied text, then do an Internet search.  The quotes tell the search engine to look for an exact match.  For example, if the link for

Pulse diagnosis

doesn’t work someday, then do an Internet search for

“Pulse diagnosis”

.  What you’re looking for will probably be near the top of the Internet Search Results.

The Chapter References provided in this book are by no means a complete listing.  Only a few references are provided for each chapter to illustrate the concept within the text.  If a particular reference is of interest to you, then just search for the title of the reference.  By doing so, you will “find more like this”.

Furthermore, in most of my books, Internet Search Strings are provided for your use.  If provided, use these strings as a start for you to “find more like this”.  Of course, you could modify the strings to find exactly what you’re looking for. 

References –

6 Android Ebook Reader Apps With Great Annotation Features

Beyond Highlighting: How to Get the Most From Your Annotations

The Simple Guide to Annotations: How to Annotate PDFs, Ebooks, Images, and Websites

Annotating & Highlighting E-Books

How to Print, E-mail or Save EBSCO eBooks Pages as a PDF

Calibre - E-book management and Calibre (software)

Popular e-readers

Comparison of e-readers

Comparison of Android e-reader software

Sigil (application)

OverDrive Media Console

What E-Reader Has Text-to-Speech?

Introduction

A Patient walks into a Doctor’s Office and the Doctor asks, “How are you?”  The Patient replies, “It could be better”.  The Doctor then Listens to the Patient’s Symptoms, Checks these Symptoms, then gives Advice accordingly – all in the span of 5-15 minutes.  I hope this Patient got better or at least got some relief.  Most of the time this works, e.g. colds, flu, skin rash, etc. – but what about those folks who just can’t seem to get better...or at least manage their symptoms?

If someone were to ask me about Current Healthcare – I would say, “It could be better”...then describe How.  This is what this book is about – my opinion on how Healthcare could be better.  I think if you ask others the same question, you’ll get other opinions.  I thought I’d put my ideas and opinions in this book for others to hopefully build on and/or pick apart - and/or maybe help them formulate their own ideas on how Healthcare could be better.

If you’re looking for a perfectly written and edited book – this ain’t it!  This book might be analogous to a patchwork quilt, hodge-podge of information and ideas, work-in-progress, etc.  I hope you can make sense of what I wrote and find it useful – or at least be a “conversation starter”.

This book is a “Straw Dog Proposal” on how I think Healthcare could be better. 

To further this discussion, I’ve started Facebook (FB) and LinkedIn (LI) groups for us all to use.  In addition, I also started a new blog on this topic, again to facilitate discussion, collaboration, brainstorming, etc.  The links for these are at the end of this book in the Appendix. 

Throughout this book, I’ll be referring to these FB/LI Groups as just “Discussion Groups” for you to share information, network with me and/or others, etc. 

I hope you all join.  We could use this book as a Conversation Starter.  I look forward to learning from you all.  ☺

Note - You might find my writing a little choppy since I typically just blurt out concepts and might not write as smoothly as others.  When I make a “concept jump”, I’ll preface it by a ********************, like below.

********************

Way back in 2008, I made a Blog Post calling for a “Super Symptom Checker” – a Wish List.  This post has had more “hits” than any other post I have made, so I thought I’d write a book expanding the concept.  Maybe now the concept is to make a “Super Super Symptom Checker”!  ☺

Then, I remembered another Blog Post I made about "Patient Listener" - New Medical Career Option? - How about outsourcing "Medical Patient Listening"?  This post was made because so many people complain of the Doctor not listening to them.  Again, this book is also an expansion of my Patient Listener concept.

When you think about it, a Doctor could be viewed as a “Symptom Checker” and sometimes a “Patient Listener”.  From that, it made sense to me to show “How to Become, Be, and/or Make a “Patient Listener” and/or a “Super Symptom Checker”. 

This book covers a wide path involving humans and/or “machines”.  Perhaps the essence of this book is having a “Patient Listener/Companion” and/or a “Mobile/Ambulatory/Wearable Symptom Checker” – focusing on “catching things early”, e.g. Prevention – and also providing the Patient with the best Quality of Life they want on an ongoing basis.

********************

Please note that when I use the term “machine”, it could mean an actual Machine, e.g. Robot, etc. – or it could mean a Computer Application, e.g. Chabot, Avatar, Online Symptom Checker, etc. – or it could mean something else.  Machines and Computers are one thing.  Humans and other Living Creatures are another thing.

The PL/SSC Concept could be either Machine/Computer and or Human.

********************

From now on in this book, I’ll use the broad term PL/SSC that could mean a “Patient Listener” (PL) and/or a “Super Symptom Checker” (SSC). 

There could be a “Patient Listener” (PL) by itself;

There could be a “Super Symptom Checker” (SSC) by itself;

In addition, there could be a PL/SSC combination in one.

Expanding this PL/SSC Concept...

There could be a

Human

“Patient Listener” (PL) and/or “Super Symptom Checker” (SSC);

There could be a

Computer

“Patient Listener” (PL) and/or “Super Symptom Checker” (SSC);

There could be a

Computer-Assisted Human

“Patient Listener” (PL) and/or “Super Symptom Checker” (SSC).

I say it repeatedly in this book that the Patient is in full control of how much or little of the PL/SSC they want to use.  The PL/SSC concept is meant to be helpful for Patients, Healthcare Professionals, and others – not to “make” the Patient “get better” and/or “stay better”.  The patient is going to do what they’re going to do (free will) – with or without a PL/SSC, Doctor, etc.

We’ll see what happens...

********************

Here’s what a PL/SSC could do for Patients...

In essence, the PL/SSC is Paging the “Dr. Within” each of us!

Provide a “Patient Listener” that will listen as long as the Patient wants it to.  The PL/SSC is fully customizable and will do as much or as little as the User wants it to do.

Provide a “

Super

Symptom Checker” that could work in conjunction with the Patient Listener – plus take into account any other data, sensor information, etc. the User/Patient allows to consider in “Checking Symptoms”.  Again, The PL/SSC is fully customizable and will do as much or as little as the User wants it to do.

The PL/SSC could provide possible diagnoses just like existing Symptom Checkers do; only the PL/SSC looks at the “Big Picture” beyond the Reported Symptoms, e.g. “What else is going on that might be causing/aggravating Symptoms”. 

The PL/SSC could provide ongoing Advice/Coaching/etc. to help the User actually get well and stay healthy – Body, Mind, and Spirit.

The PL/SSC could find the root causes of the Symptoms if the User cooperates and allows this function.  Again, The PL/SSC is fully customizable and will do as much or as little as the User wants it to do.  Similar to Doctors, the PL/SSC will work with as much data, information, etc. the Patient allows.

Continuous regular use of the PL/SSC could help the Patient’s Doctor figure out what is really going on and treat the Patient better.

Using the PL/SSC, especially with a Doctor (if available), could reduce Doctor’s visits, reduce medicine/treatment usage, and reduce costs.

You don’t have to be a Patient to use the Computer/Internet version of the PL/SSC either, just like existing Symptom Checkers and/or Chatbots.

Interested?  - As you go along in this book, you’ll find more on how the PL/SSC could help Patients (You?) get healthy and stay healthy.

Here’s what a PL/SSC could do for Doctors and other Healthcare Professionals...

Depending on what the Patient allows, the PL/SSC could help fill in the blanks when Diagnosing and/or Treating.  The Patient’s regular use of the PL/SSC could provide a “

longitudinal study

”, much like a

Holter monitor

. 

The PL/SSC could provide way more than just snapshot

Vital Signs

.  As you will see in this book, the PL/SSC could give the Doctor, and Patient, a Summary of “what else is going on around the Symptoms” or in other words “Symptoms in Context”.  Of course, it would be up to the Patient whether to share this information and how much information, with a Doctor.  This “big picture” of information could help you, as a Doctor, Diagnose and Treat the Patient Better.

Doctor’s use of a PL/SSC could act as a Coach, Reminder, or Ongoing Second Opinion for Differential Diagnosis, etc. – if the User/Doctor allows this to happen.  The PL/SSC could monitor/coach on

Bedside Manner

, monitor/advise of the Doctor’s own health to be of maximum service to the Patient (not fatigued, burned out, etc.), alert Doctor if/when

Physician Bias

is triggered, stress occurs, etc.  Again, the PL/SSC is fully customizable and will do as much or as little as the User wants it to do.  Doctors might consider using a PL/SSC themselves to be the Best Doctor they can be!  – All for the good of the Patient – and maybe for self-growth.

Read on in this book to find out how this could work for you Doctors and other Healthcare Professionals, if you are interested.

Here’s what a PL/SSC could do for Patients and Professionals, together as a team...

If both the Doctor and Patient both use a PL/SSC, this might improve

Doctor-Patient Relationship

– perhaps due to both being more transparent and truthful with each other – if the Patient and the D

Here’s what a PL/SSC could do for Parents of a Sick Child...or a Caregiver for Someone Sick...

Anyone wearing/using a PL/SSC could ease the mind of another in charge of the care of another person.  There could be alerts, constant contact with Healthcare Professionals to help monitor, advise, just listen, etc.

The Parent/Caregiver could use a PL/SSC to monitor/track/inform/advise/etc. of their own health – to prevent undue fatigue, burnout, etc.

Here’s what a PL/SSC could do for Health Insurance Companies, National Health Insurance, and/or Universal Health Care, e.g. Medicare, Veterans Health, etc.

The Use of PL/SSC by people has the potential for those people to actually get healthy and stay healthy.  Wouldn’t that be a good thing for Health Insurers?  – so they don’t have to pay out so much and so often.

Here’s what a PL/SSC could do for Society as a whole....

Again, The Use of PL/SSC by people has the potential for those people to actually get healthy and stay healthy.  Wouldn’t that be a good thing for Society as a whole, throughout the World? 

People even study the Sociology of health and illness.  Maybe these folks might be interested in the PL/SSC concept in its various forms – Human, Computer/Internet, Computer/Internet assisted Human.

Hmmmm....what will we talk about if we don’t talk about our Health/Symptoms, Cost of Healthcare, Availability of Healthcare, etc.?

Here’s what the PL/SSC Concept could do for Health/Medical Innovators, Inventors, Writers, Authors, and other Creative People....

The PL/SSC Concept seems like a new Concept, though it isn’t.  It just builds on previous existing concepts and pulls them together into one Concept.  Voila!  – The PL/SSC.

The PL/SSC Concept could be achieved by Humans (People), Computers/Internet, and/or Computer Assisted Humans (People). 

The PL/SSC Concept could be used with, without, and/or in conjunction with Healthcare Professionals. 

The PL/SSC Concept could be Face to Face Interaction, Person to Computer/Internet, Computer/Internet Assisted Person, Interactive Kiosk, or anything else anyone can think of – and sometimes available free of charge 24/7. 

The goal of the PL/SSC Concept is to make it available to everyone worldwide – whether they use it or not is another thing. 

Does all this tickle anyone’s Creativity?  I hope so.

********************

Sounds great, doesn’t it?  Well....there’s a catch here....it’s not fully in practice today. 

There are pieces of it all over the Internet and even going back to the beginning of time – but nowhere yet is there a fully functional “Patient Listener” and/or “Super Symptom Checker”.  I’m trying to change that in writing this book and providing tools for you all to network, participate in the design, collaborate, give your opinions, etc. in the Implementation of the PL/SSC Concept (or not). 

Let’s speed up to today and see what might be done to Implement the PL/SSC Concept.  In essence, this book shows what’s been done before and what else could be done.

Chapter 1 shows What affects Health Symptoms.  This chapter is a “start list” of what Inputs could be included in a Super Symptom Checker.

Chapter 2 looks at the Bigger Picture, beyond just Symptoms, into how the Mind/Body/Spirit all affect Health Symptoms.

Chapter 3 is a Special Chapter on Stress, especially Negative Stress since it Causes/Aggravates many Health Symptoms.

Chapter 4 looks at what Patients want most – A “Patient Listener”.  We’ll look at how this Patient Listener could be a Person, a Machine, and/or a Person-Machine Combination.

Chapter 5 describes what’s been done before in Symptom Checkers and the like.

Chapter 6 gives some ideas of what a “Super Symptom Checker” might look like, features, and appearance.

Chapter 7 continues where Chapter 1 leaves off, giving more ideas on what Inputs could be added to a Super Symptom Checker.

Chapter 8 is a Special Chapter on finding out “what makes a patient tick” since I think this is very important in Diagnosing and Treating the Patient as a Person.

Chapter 9 gives ideas on what could be Outputs from the Super Symptom Checker.

Chapter 10 gives a framework for a

Person

to Become and/or Be a Patient Listener and/or a Super Symptom Checker.

Chapter 11 shows ideas on how to make Patient Listener and/or a Super Symptom Checker (

Machine

).

Chapter 12 gives some insights into how the Implementation of the PL/SSC Concept could occur.

Chapter 13 is a Conclusion of this book – pulling it all together. 

The Appendix consists of each Chapter’s References, Search Strings, and More. 

Please be sure to check out all the References for this book to give you background information. 

If you think this book is far out in the future, just check some of the References and you will see that there are similar concepts being done today!  It's just a short leap from today to the PL/SSC concept tomorrow, from what I can see.  We can build on the work of others – and make new and better!

Note – If you are working as a group reading this book, I suggest splitting up into teams, each covering a portion of each chapter’s References – then get back with each other to review what you have learned.  By doing this, each Chapter will probably make much more sense to you.

********************

Ending this chapter, you’ll see later on in this book that the PL/SSC has no dividing line between Physician | Pharmacist | Psychologist – and is open to any and all healing modalities – whatever works for the Patient is best.  Wait and see!

********************

By the way, I have an ulterior motive for writing this book.  I hope this book might lead us all to “Interfacing with the Doctor Within”.  I started this Blog to encourage using science to record and explore the “intuitive messages” the body, mind, and spirit are trying to tell us about our health and health of others.  I personally think there is a wonderful healing mechanism inside each of us that knows exactly what is going on all the time and making corrections to maintain optimum health.  I don’t know how to access this “Doctor Within” directly and am hoping someday we’ll have an “On Board Diagnostic Connector” of some sort, similar to automobiles.  This Connector would communicate directly to perhaps the Central Nervous System, CNS, to “see what’s going on inside” directly.  Right now, we can only guess, since the CNS is so complex and has intertwining all over the Body, Mind, and Spirit.  Maybe in the future, we’ll be able to “coax” the “insides” to “fix itself” in cases where the CNS doesn’t know it is harming, e.g. cancer, etc.  Wouldn’t it be cool to “ask” the Onboard Diagnostic System what it needs to fix the Body, Mind, and Spirit? 

OK, onward we go...  (Isn’t this exciting?)

********************

Take-Aways

Having a “Patient Listener” might be the most important part of solving the Diagnosis Puzzle.

A “Super” Symptom Checker might help the Doctor and/or the Patient better diagnose and treat symptoms, especially for chronic conditions.

There might be other factors going on to Aggravate and/or Cause the Present Symptoms.  It would be wise to look at the “Big Picture” when Diagnosing/Treating Symptoms.

********************

Got your attention?  I hope so.  Let’s read more....

Chapter 1 – What affects Health Symptoms?

This chapter breaks down the Health Determinants to better understand how many factors could contribute to Present Symptoms.  At the end of this chapter, you will have a better understanding of what all Health involves. 

For designers, this chapter provides a starting point of possible Inputs you might want to include in your Symptom Checker, Super Symptom Checker, Super Differential Diagnosis Tool, and/or Computer Assisted Doctor-Patient Communication Tool. 

Each of the Determinants could be an Input into a Super Symptom Checker or the like.  More Possible Inputs are included in Chapter 7 – What Else Could Be Done?  – Ideas, Concepts, Future – Super Symptom Checker – Inputs.

By the way, this and all other chapters have a few References at the end of this book in the Appendix.  Sample Search Strings are also provided at the end of this book for your use.

********************

OK, let’s get started.

Perhaps the most common Input is Symptom(s) Input from the Patient and maybe Input from people close to the Patient, e.g. family, friends, etc.  A good Symptom History is hard to obtain for various reasons.  That’s why we’ll discuss the “Patient Listener” concept all by itself in Chapter 4.

Some ways to communicate Symptoms are by words, pictures, etc.  The words could be written and/or spoken.  The words could be in English or some other language.

Family and Friends are important since they might very well see conditions that the Patient just doesn’t see or might not want to share.

With permission of the Patient, the family/friends/caregivers observations of Signs/Symptoms could be entered simultaneously with the Patient’s, remotely, at another time, etc.

The family’s and/or friend’s inputs might help clarify the Patient’s ambiguous Symptoms.  This might be particularly helpful when the Patient is cognitively challenged, e.g. age, mental disability, paralysis, etc.

The “Patient Listener” Person and/or Tool could summarize the Inputs from the Patient and family/friends/caregivers into one entry agreeable to the Patient and family/friends/caregivers.  Think of this as a Collaboration Tool striving for the common goal of describing Signs and/or Symptoms for the Doctor and/or Patient.

Within the Tool, the agreed entry above could be further converted into “Medical Speak”, if necessary.

Perhaps someone who is both a Good Listener and has a Good Medical Background could perform this gathering of information.  This gathering of information, essential as it is, could take hours.  This “Patient Listener” would then enter the agreed Signs/Symptoms into the PL/SSC for analysis.  This “Patient Listener” could be an actual person, computer avatar, or even a robot.

In addition to words, Symptoms can also be inputted via the list below.

Visual, e.g. camera showing rash;

Auditory e.g. microphone conveying erratic heartbeat;

Tactile e.g. Braille or Touch of Skin Bumps;

Haptic, e.g. Virtual Reality;

Olfactory, e.g. Smell Sensor or Taste Sensor.

Furthermore, when the family/friends/caregivers are interviewed, it might be found that the family/friends/caregivers are having Symptoms, too, because of the Patient’s Symptoms.  The family/friend’s Symptoms could be then affecting the Patient’s Symptoms.  Do you see now how multifaceted Symptoms can be?  Some think of Patient Symptoms as a continuously moving Mobile with multiple intertwining changing inputs.  This might be related to Comorbidity, too.

Summarizing, it is very important to obtain a complete Symptom History, however, it is done, to actually diagnose and treat the Symptoms or the conditions underlying the Presented Symptoms. 

Inputs for Vital Signs, Diagnostic Test Results, and Health History (Electronic Health Record).

Most of these are considered when a Doctor sees a Patient, but few Symptom Checkers have an Input for Signs/Tests/General Health History.  I’d like to see that change for both consumer use as well as professional usage.

Let’s look at a few of the current technologies that could be inputted into a Super Symptom Checker.

Vital Signs

can now be measured at home and in the clinic by new devices, some of which are Wearable.  For some time now, consumers have been able to measure their blood pressure and sometimes heart rate, temperature, etc.  Now I think it is time to have this valuable information available in a Symptom Checker.  This might give the computer algorithm an edge on providing a more complete “diagnosis” based on Symptoms and now with Vital Signs, too.

Okay, now what about

Diagnostic Test Results

inputting into a Symptom Checker?  I don’t see why not.  Again, this information would give the computer more information for a better “diagnosis”.  I see some consumer Symptom Checkers have this feature, but it is very limited.

This leads us into Health History (Electronic Health Record) which includes Test Results, Doctor’s Notes, etc. of particular use in a Super Symptom Checker.

Ah, now we get into the good stuff that Artificial Intelligence (AI) could “chew on”, along with the other Inputs provided.  What I’m talking about is the Electronic Health Record that includes most, if not all, of the Patient’s Interactions with Healthcare Professionals.  This Record is in “Medical Speak”, which AI would love to look at and “think about”. 

Perhaps we need to make a Super Electronic Health Record, too, that includes factors that better describe the Patient as a Person! 

Read on – the PL/SSC does just that!  (Chapter 8)

What about the Patient as a Person and what is going on in their lives that might be affecting the Presented Symptoms?  That’s where other Inputs into the Checker come in handy for a “3-D Diagnosis”.  I think it’s about time to look at the “Big Picture” about what is going on “inside” and “outside” the Patient that is affecting the Presented Symptoms.  This would be particularly helpful for Chronic Conditions or when the doctor has given up on a Patient.  Did you know that most Chronic Conditions have Risk Factors, many of which can be changed, if known?

Input from the Patient’s Doctor, if available.

Doctor’s notes or Clinical Notes would be a very helpful Input but I think even more helpful would be the casual conversation the Doctor has with the Patient.

This is a tricky one, since the Doctor-Patient Communication and Relationship is sometimes, or maybe often, precarious at best.

It seems like Doctors are afraid to say, do, and especially write, what they know the Patient might not want to hear.  On the flip-side, Patients are often stingy with providing good information to the Doctor.  Maybe in the future, this will change.

Do you remember in the Introduction, where I mentioned the concept of a Computer-Assisted Doctor-Patient Communication Tool?  Maybe this Tool could facilitate honest candid discussion instead of such “guarded” communication.  For the sake of the Patient, perhaps this honest, candid conversation could be inputted into a Checker to help guide the conversation toward the “best” Diagnosis and/or Treatment Plan.  This Tool might, also, be viewed as a “Coach” on the Shoulder of the Doctor, giving advice as the conversation goes along, maybe through an Ear Bud.

Current and Past Stress/Distress surely affects Symptoms.

To put this into practical terms, how often have you heard a Doctor ask a Patient, after listening to a litany of Symptoms, “So, what else is going on in your life?”

It might be found that the Patient is going a stressful time and this stress presents itself as symptoms.  In addition, it is also well known that unresolved past stress affects present symptoms, e.g. PTSD.

Okay, so how do we measure Stress/Distress, both past and present?  Perhaps the best way is just to “listen to the patient” and “listen to the patient’s story”.  As I eluded too in this book, a good long Patient History could be outsourced to a “Patient Listener”, which could be a live person, an avatar, a robot, etc.  The “Patient Listener” would then summarize and present this to a Doctor and/or Symptom Checker.

How about measuring physiological stress signs, e.g. Galvanic Skin Response and/or Heart Rate Variability, etc.?  These inputs could also be very well be inputted to a Super Symptom Checker. 

In addition, you might like to consider Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) Activity that might be affecting Symptoms, which is closely related to Stress/Distress above.

The ANS also includes the Subconscious/Unconscious Thoughts that might affect Symptoms.  Currently, all we have to monitor Thoughts, and the Body’s Reaction thereof, is monitoring Emotions.  Perhaps in the future, we will be able to actually monitor our Thoughts and help ourselves cope in a healthy manner.  Please be aware that some thoughts or awarenesses are beneath the conscious level and are in the Subconscious/Unconscious Level, e.g., PTSD triggers, Intuition, etc.

In Chapter 3, we’ll delve into how Stress/Distress does indeed have a huge effect on Health.  We’ll also see how to use Science/Technology to monitor and manage stress better.

Current and Past Mental Status can also affect Symptoms.

One example is the Patient with Dementia trying to communicate they are in pain.  Body language goes a long way here and maybe a Super Symptom Checker could interpret this body language.

Frequent Physical Complaints could also indicate mental/psychological/emotional factors that are usually not considered in Doctor’s Visits and/or existing Symptom Checkers.  One example here is Depression, which I think we all have now and then, and, yes, Clinical Depression.  In any event, Depression can cause Physical Symptoms, e.g. pain, fatigue, etc.  Likewise, Symptoms/Illness can also cause Depression.

Often in this book, I’ve stated that I think Symptoms have components, which are often overlooked in current healthcare.  Imagine how a Super Symptom Checker could give a Percentage Diagnosis of Presented Symptoms, e.g. 20% Mental, 30% Stress, 50% Injury.  What a concept?

So, getting back to Mental Status, how do we measure this?  Again, perhaps a “Patient Listener” could notice this and let the Doctor know.  In Chapter 8, I’ll discuss how Digital Footprints and/or Artificial Intelligence could give an indication of the Patient’s Mental Status, Personality, and a lot more.  How exciting!

Yes, Health Behaviors also greatly affect Symptoms.  This includes eating, sleeping, activity, lifestyle, etc.

So, how do we measure and/or track Health Behaviors?  We are doing this already by Wearable Sensors and/or Phone Apps.  These tools help us monitor eating, sleeping, activity, and general lifestyle.  Aha, now we can Input these into a Super Symptom Checker and then correlate this with the progress or decline of Presented Symptoms.  Aren’t you getting more and more excited as this big picture unfolds?  I am.

The input of Personality of Patient, since personality is known to affect health, in general.

Currently, some modern doctors are using Personality Tests to better know their patients and better understand the big picture of their Symptoms.  The Results from these Personality Tests could be part of the Patient’s Electronic Health Record and further Inputted into a Super Symptom Checker.

In Chapter 8, we’ll see how other methods could be used to determine a Patient’s Personality.  Wait and see!

The input of Education and Literacy.

Again, Manual Testing could be done to determine Education and/or Literacy Level and then Inputted into a Super Symptom Checker.  Other methods are discussed in Chapter 8.

Genetic Information Input, since many times Symptoms repeat themselves over generations.

I guess I don’t have to tell you that Genetics, Heredity, and Family History do affect Symptoms.

Along with Race, I’d like to also include Ethnicity and Acculturation. 

These factors affect Symptoms, as shown by the References.  In addition, I think we should look at the Stress/Distress caused by Race, Ethnicity, and Acculturation as a factor in considering the Presented Symptoms.  A “Super Symptom Checker” with a “Super Electronic Health Record” could do that!

Gender Input, both assigned Sex at Birth and Gender Identity.

Men and Women do indeed get sick differently and react to sickness differently.  Currently, men and women are diagnosed and treated differently, too, due to biases.  Men and women respond to Medical Interventions differently, too, e.g. Medications, Advice, etc.

Furthermore, Gender Identity could cause Stress/Distress that also affects Symptoms.

Can you begin to see how Presented Symptoms might very well have multiple roots, which Doctors and Existing Symptom Checkers might not consider?

Age Input, both actual and perceived.

Actual Age could be anything from Birth, Infants, Children, Adolescents, Adulthood, and Dying.  Each stage of life has a predisposition to Actual Symptoms and Perceived Symptoms.

Perceived Age can also create Stress/Distress that affects Symptoms.  Children want to be Grown-Ups and the Elderly want to do what they did when they were Young. 

Inclination towards Healing or Inclination towards Sickness.  This is related to Patient Motivation, Will to Live (or lack thereof), and/or Attitude.

This might be the Second Most Important Input to a Super Symptom Checker, next to Inputting Symptoms.  The Mind and Body work together to either “get or stay well” or “get or stay sick”.

Ambient Conditions Input around the Patient.  This also includes air quality, pollen count, weather, water quality, sanitation, Moon phase, Temperature-Humidity, etc.

Have you ever heard of Heat Index Warnings, or “There’s a storm coming - I can feel it in my bones”?

EnvironmentalStressors Input, both Physical and Psychological.  This is closely related to Ambient Conditions above but also includes Psychological Stressors, too.  Current and past Work Experiences also might affect a person’s health, e.g. exposure to toxins, asbestos, on the job emotional stress, etc.

Stressors often have both a Physical Component and a Psychological Component.

An example of this is listening to commercials on TV.  I feel good until I hear of heath conditions I “might” have.  I think commercials are Noise Pollution, yet are necessary to keep the cost of TV low.

Another example is when there is a Heat Wave, people do indeed feel the ambient conditions and also stress/distress.  Stress/distress compounds the actual ambient conditions that have an effect on chronic symptoms.

Perhaps a poignant example is when someone is abused.  Yes, doctors can treat the physical injuries but often offer little for the psychological/emotional “injuries” (PTSD) that frequently occur, maybe even sometime later, with additional Symptoms.

Many Doctors and/or Patients do not consider Environmental Stressors when Symptoms occur, thus the need for a Super Symptom Checker.

Input about Recent Sickness Outbreaks from the CDC and Local Healthcare Agencies.

Usually, when you go to the Doctor you are asked: “Have you traveled to XYZ country within the last 6 months?”  This is because there may have been a Sickness Outbreak at the country and the Doctor wants to factor this into the Diagnosis of your Symptoms.

Well, I don’t think this is good enough, especially since we have the Sickness Outbreak Information so readily available, e.g. CDC, WHO, etc.

Later in this book, you will see how Phone GPS and Sickness Outbreak Information could be combined to give a more probable Diagnosis of Observed Symptoms.

Risk Factor Input to hone in on a more probable, accurate Diagnosis of Symptoms.

Your Doctor often considers Risk Factors in Diagnosing Symptoms.  Why not include Risk Factors into a Symptom Checker, along with other features, to make it a Super Symptom Checker?

Your Doctor might even use a Risk Factor Calculator.  There are individual Risk Factor Calculators for various conditions, such as Heart Disease, Cancer, Stroke, etc.  However, I don’t see a Super Risk Factor Calculator that considers everything all at once for all possible diseases.  Aha another opportunity for someone!

I don’t see why a Super Risk Factor Calculator couldn’t be included in a Super Symptom Checker.

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The rest of this chapter consists of my “Concept Jumps” I explained in the Introduction.  These Concepts are based on this Chapter’s References, my experience, learnings, and/or imagination.  There is no order to these ideas - they are just blurted out.  Perhaps you want to organize them to your liking.  I hope they add clarity for this chapter and give you some new ideas. 

Here we go...

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Out of all this, you might ask, “Which part of me is sick?”  Great question!  The answer is you might have more than one factor causing/aggravating the present symptom(s).  Think of all the affecting factors above as a hanging mobile.  A disruption of one or more of the hanging parts of the mobile could affect Symptoms.  Few doctors consider the whole or big picture in diagnosing/treating Symptoms.  I’d like that to change, especially for chronic conditions.

For example, for High Blood Pressure Symptoms, a PL/SSC could give a Percentage Diagnosis that might include 20% Physical (Organic Disease), 50% Lifestyle, and 30% Stress.

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According to the References I found, there could be multiple factors affecting Health, Symptoms, and/or Healthcare thereof; e.g. age, sex, race, etc.  Perhaps the PL/SSC could help “level the playing field” for Healthcare, e.g. little or no biases, equality, signal when there is not fairness, etc.

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By regular use of the PL/SSC, Chronic Health Conditions could be automatically monitored/recorded/tracked – thus giving both the Patient and the Doctor valuable information on “what is working” and “what is not working” – and give insights on what could even work better.

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The PL/SSC has the potential of assessing the “The determinants of health” by the World Health Organization – on an Individual Basis and also Regionally.  Each of the Determinants could be scored and represented on a Pie Chart or similar.  The Patient and Doctor could then look at the “Big Picture” of Health and go from there.  Maybe one or more of the Determinants is not within “range” and causing and/or aggravating Symptoms.

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Monitoring/Recording/Tracking “Emotions” might be a general “Barometer” of Health – both Physical and Mental.  Persistent Negative Emotions are known to be detrimental to Health whereas even a “small dose” of Positive Emotions might tip the needle toward Healing and Better Health.  Chapter 3 discusses Stress – both Negative and Positive.  Psychological Stress can be tracked by monitoring Emotions.  Symptoms, e.g. Pain, are related to Emotions, too.

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Individual PL/SSC’s could interact with one another – in hopes of better harmony between people, improving the overall health of a family/community, etc., confirming the presence of negative/positive conditions, etc.

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The PL/SSC could give a Consequence Estimate of Ignoring one or more Health Determinants, analogous to ignoring the “Check Engine Light” on a Vehicle – in terms of monetary loss, an increase of pain/symptoms, shortened lifespan, etc.

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In addition to evaluating the Status of the Health Determinants, the PL/SSC could give advice on what to change, how to change, how to connect with local resources, etc.

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Later on in this book, we’ll see a “Matching Tool” to connect Patients with someone who can best help them achieve optimum health – considering the “big picture” for the Patient and also the “big picture” of the “Helper”.  Think of this as a “Patient-Helper” Matchmaker, e.g. Patient-Doctor Matchmaker, etc.!

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The PL/SSC could assess how Symptoms/Illnesses interact with one another in an Individual – and give advice on how to minimize/heal each of the Symptoms/Illnesses eventually leading to the best possible overall Health.

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By analyzing the “Present”, the PL/SSC could alert of what is helping and what is harming a Person’s Health – in other words, to Prevent Symptoms from forming in the first place.

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The PL/SSC should work for all ages, all people, communicative or not.  The PL/SSC measures Health Determinants – positive or negative.  In addition, the PL/SSC measures the “Health” of a Person’s Body, Mind, and Spirit on a continuous basis.  This information transcends age, language, etc.  The External and Internal Conditions of a Person are universal, as shown above, despite “Who” they are.  The PL/SSC automatically selects the proper range of Health Determinants depending on age and other factors, e.g. Infants vs. Adults vs. Elderly, etc.

Health Determinants apply to all people – Patients, Doctors, Healthcare Workers, Average People, Rich People, Poor People, World Leaders, Prisoners, Royalty, Paupers, etc. 

Maybe the PL/SSC could help both the Doctor and the Patient get better and stay better together.

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I think the PL/SSC, and any other Health/Medical Intervention/Device, can only do so much.  The Patient has free will to do, or not do, what they want with their health.  Doctors, Books, Devices can only do so much to help Patients.  The PL/SSC and this book are only offered to people to use as they wish.  My hope is to get the help and tools to those who really want to get better and stay better.

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I’ve listed the Health Determinants but I don’t think they apply for all ages, all people in all conditions, and/or all people around the world.  I think there is such a thing as Personalized Health Determinants based especially on age.  For example, infants might need cleaner air than adults might, those undergoing chemotherapy might need cleaner water than healthy people might, a 100-year-old person might have to have a more serene environment than a 20-year-old, etc.  You all can figure that out if you want.  My job is just to list the Universal Health Determinants as they might apply to the PL/SSC.

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I think the Placebo Effect and Mindset have an influence on how important Health Determinants are to each person.  For example, if a person has a strong desire to live, I think the body/mind/spirit can accommodate fewer Health Determinants than those who are just waiting to die.  Also, I think that if a person thinks the Health Determinants are adequate, the body/mind/spirit will think so too (Placebo Effect).  More on this stuff later in this book and how the PL/SSC can leverage the Placebo Effect, Improve Mindset, and provide Personalized Motivation.  Just wait and see!  Are you excited?  Me too.  ☺

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If nothing else, maybe the PL/SSC can help measure “sickness” and show what factors might be causing/aggravating the “sickness”.  I think most of us fluctuate between “feeling healthy” and “feeling sick” – and waffle back and forth somewhere in between.  This depends on the day, time of day, conditions around us, what we did or didn’t do lately, etc.  Chronic Conditions are like that – they increase and decrease depending on various factors.  Yes, we know when we’re sick with a Cold or Flu – and yes, we know when we really feel good – but I think there is a grey zone in between – not feeling healthy, and yet not feeling sick. 

Perhaps the PL/SSC can help sort all this out and give recommendations.  The PL/SSC can act as a Body, Mind, and Spirit “Diary” showing when we’re feeling good and when we’re not.  From this “Diary”, of sorts, the Patient and/or Doctor can see what is “helping” their lives and what is “hurting” their lives, what medicines/treatments make it better or worse, record when Symptoms are greater and less, record when the Symptoms first started, etc.

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