Just noticed that there is a 'Ask a Pediatrician' aspect to this site now. There's a little write up by Jillian (think she was a previous moderator) on the main page. So it now seems people can submit questions to the pediatrician through the comments section.
I am guessing this is good so people will ask their medical questions there. I suppose we redirect them? There was that lymphoma question the other day .. comes to mind.
It was this part "our resident pediatrician Dr. Stephanie Dekom answers your toughest questions." that surprised me. I agree - it's still not in people's best interests to ask on the internet - they should see their own physicians and get referrals if needs be.
Was surprised to see this. Maybe if the doctor tells them to go see a doctor, they will.
Well, it doesn't make sense to me. Remember all the times that Mike wrote on threads and said that MP doesn't offer medical advice?
So strange...
I'm divided on this.
https://www.mamapedia.com/voices/ask-a-pediatrician-13
People should have a dedicated pediatrician who is familiar with the health history of their child who can answer specific detailed health questions about their child.
It's alarming the people who come here with serious health questions and in some cases these people need to get off the internet and run (do not walk) to the nearest emergency room with the crisis they are dealing (or not dealing) with.
It makes me wonder exactly how accessible health care is in our country if you have insurance but the deductible is so high that you still can't afford to get medical help (or you're not insured at all).
The Ask a Pediatrician section - starts with
What’s the best way to deal with gas in newborns?
How can I encourage my baby to start crawling?
What are some natural teething remedies?
Don't get me wrong - all are lovely generic general parenting questions.
And it's great to have a pediatrician answer these.
But it's a far cry from "I have a 105 degree temp and my left side ribs are splayed out - what do I do?" type questions and we've been getting a lot of fairly serious medical questions.
Mamapedia has been careful in the past with the warning:
"Just as a friendly reminder, per Mamapedia Guidelines:
Medical questions may be asked, however, please know that the first and best source for the answers to all such questions will alway be an appropriate certified professional. Please always consult such a professional in these matters first and foremost.
Mamapedia does not offer medical advice to our members, and any such advice you receive on the site is taken at your own risk.".
And I'm fairly sure the legal department insists this is still the case.
It's the language they need to keep them from getting sued.
The site having a pediatrician to answer some general questions is NOT the same as having your own pediatrician working with your child.
I would not be so quick to redirect any/all medical questions to the 'site pediatrician'.
It's not what they are trying to do.
Additional:
I'm glad it's being looked into.
When can we expect that we'll hear any results/conclusions?
It's been out there 4 days already with no feedback so far.
I think its a bad idea. So many thing can seem minor with a child that turn out to be major that I can't imagine asking a medical question concerning your child to some unknown doctor on an internet site.
Hello everyone - thank you for the comments and feedback. We are looking into this further and will get back to you in regards to this article.
