Spectacular advances in medical science are changing the world as we know it. One such advance that physicians are using is handheld diagnostic devices like Electromyography (EMG) Machines to accurately measure muscle health and the motor neurons cells that control them. Electrodes in an EMG detect electrical signals transmitted by motor neurons and then translates these signals into numerical values, sounds, or graphs.
Although this is impressive enough, the capability of an EMG device can be enhanced even more by pairing it up with cloud computing. So a cloud EMG can help analyze nerve conduction data to diagnose common neuropathies like Diabetic neuropathy, Ulnar neuropathy, Fiber neuropathies, neck pain, lower back pain, and Carpal Tunnel.
Primary care physicians often see people who have neuropathic symptoms because of their sedentary lifestyles. Although sitting in a comfortable office chair for hours typing in words, numbers, or symbols and moving a mouse may not seem like strenuous work, it can result in a wide range of health problems.
Besides detecting neuropathy problems, EMG machines also help rule out other health problems. According to Mayo Clinic, EMG results can rule out the following conditions:
- ·Muscle disorders, such as muscular dystrophy or polymyositis
- ·Diseases affecting the connection between the nerve and the muscle, such as myasthenia gravis
- ·Disorders of nerves outside the spinal cord (peripheral nerves), such as carpal tunnel syndrome or peripheral neuropathies
- ·Disorders that affect the motor neurons in the brain or spinal cord, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or polio
- ·Disorders that affect the nerve root, such as a herniated disk in the spine
Outsourcing Testing
Although physicians are quick to identify the cause and the symptoms of a neuropathy based on experience, an intuition about what is going on is not accepted as a medical diagnosis.
Consequently, physicians must outsource medical tests to a third party to confirm their hunch. This is not convenient for either the physicians or the patients because the patient has to be rescheduled and it may take a few weeks to get the test results back.
Doctor-Patient Relationships
Sending a patient to a medical technician for further testing is not the best way to do things because the physicians know their patients better than the technicians can get to know them.
Since physicians have built a relationship with their patients and are familiar with their medical background, physicians are in a much better position to interpret the patient’s symptoms. A technician, by contrast, is only following orders based on the doctor’s oral or written instructions. Often these instructions may not be clear or complete and the testing is not done as thoroughly as physicians would like.
In addition, patients may have more than one neuropathic disorder, but a cluster of them. If the technician only tests for what the doctor ordered, other neuropathy symptoms may go undetected.
The result of inconclusive testing is that the patient is repeatedly sent back for more testing.
3 Nightmare Scenarios
Outsourced testing is inconvenient for all parties concerned:
- It’s inconvenient from the patient’s perspective. The patient may have to go back and forth between doctor and medical technician to find out what is wrong with them. After they find the testing facility, they have to get an appointment or wait for their turn. They then have to repeat what the doctor told them to help the technician decipher the doctor’s instructions on what they are supposed to test. And, finally, they have to wait for some time in pain before the test results come in.
- It’s inconvenient from physician’s perspective. Since the tests may take some time, it will not be easy to schedule the patient back into a busy workload. By that time, the physician will have forgotten much of what has occurred and will have to reorient themselves to the patient’s medical problems. If the technician has not done an accurate job, focusing on the wrong things, or the doctor discovers more health problems, the patient has to be sent back to the testing facility.
- It’s inconvenient from the medical technician’s perspective. If the doctor gives perfectly clear instructions and the patient has a clear idea of what is wrong with them, then the technician’s job is easy enough. However, the doctor often supplies vague instructions and the patient does not know what is wrong with them. As a result, much of the testing is based on taking an educated guess.
All these 3 problem scenarios are resolved if the physician can do all their own testing in-house.
In addition, since they now have an EMG machine to work with, they are in a position to diagnose a wider number of possible symptoms.
More Efficient Medical Practices
While we seldom think of running a medical practice as a business, it is a business simply because someone is paying for a service. In any business, customer satisfaction is essential for repeat business. If a doctor can provide better service for a patient—accurately diagnosing their problems and providing a quick and effective treatment plan—the patient is more likely to return for routine checkups as well as for any other future medical problems. In addition, a patient is much more likely to recommend family, friends, and colleagues to visit the doctor. Word-of-mouth advertising is still the most effective form of building a practice.
