[robbiep]

Whilst I can’t speak for your particular circumstances and will assume you know exactly what is wrong with you and what you need, this assumption cannot be applied more broadly. In many respects the family practitioner’s role as gatekeeper to further medical care is anachronistic; perhaps we will be able to solve this with better technology. Until then, it provides a important centre for coordination of care and the prevention of unnecessary care (however imperfect this is at present)

[ryandrake]

As someone who rarely goes to the doctor (unless it's very serious) and when he does, does extensive "internet research" of his symptoms beforehand to come in knowledgable, I agree that for me, GPs gatekeeping medicine is unnecessary.

BUUUUT, I have a family friend who is basically a hypochondriac. She goes to the doctor ridiculously frequently, and is always trying to convince them (and everyone else who will listen) that she has all these undiagnosed medical conditions that she needs constant treatment for. Usually she's just sent home, where she does more and more "internet research" to find even more things that must be wrong with her. And it's not substance addiction: She's not going in there seeking abusable medication. She just wants validation that she has all these terrible conditions that she's dreamt up, and someone to finally tell her she's right. So, I guess at the end of the day we do need the gatekeepers, as anachronistic as they seem.

[Cthulhu_]

Counterpoint: What if she's not faking it? There's conditions like endometriosis that are horribly underdiagnosed and often dismissed as IBS; the average diagnosis takes seven years. Recently a 40-some year old died after being dismissed for years; her abdomen was riddled with endo tissue and adhesions, likely killing her in the end.

[robbiep]

There is no easy way to solve the problem of mis- or un-diagnosis, except better training, better awareness and hopefully better diagnostic techniques