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Visiting the doctor can be frustrating. The doctor asks about the patient’s eating habits and the patient forgets to tell the doctor half of his food intake for the day. The doctor asks how often the patient exercises and the patient says daily, when the truth is more like weekly. Most people who visit doctors do not report their health information accurately. They either outright lie to make themselves look better, or they just don’t remember relevant details. Doctors do not help matters by skipping important questions or tests due to time constraints. Why does this happen and what is the solution to this problem? Read on to find out the answers.

Inaccurate reporting of health

Many people, for a variety of reasons, do not report their own health practices accurately when they visit doctors. An analysis of several studies published in the American Journal of Epidemiology in June 2014 revealed that 28% of study subjects under-reported their total caloric intake on food frequency questionnaires. As a part of their training, doctors learn that patients frequently under-report or inaccurately report caloric intake, type of food eaten, amount of exercise, alcohol intake, smoking habits, and other health factors. These inaccurate reports are not due to deliberate lying, but instead to poor recall. People in general seem to be awful at remembering what they have done during a day. This inaccurate reporting of health habits can adversely affect the diagnostic process if a person must be evaluated for a serious health condition.

Lying about health

People also deliberately lie about their health in an effort to appear better or uphold their own views of strength and independence. This is especially true for men who do not wish to appear weak or dependent when they go to doctors. A study published in Preventative Medicine in 2016 found that men who held traditional beliefs about masculinity were more likely to put off dealing with medical problems, more likely to request a male doctor, and less likely to be open about health issues. Another study, published in The Journal of Health Psychology in 2014 found that both men and women who held views that they should be “brave and self-reliant” were more likely to put off medical care and less likely to be honest with their doctors. Once again, providing inaccurate information to a doctor in an effort to be strong and self-reliant could adversely affect diagnosis and treatment if a serious health condition is present.

Doctors complicate health reporting

Doctors have a hand in how patients report lifestyle and symptoms. By asking the right set of questions, a doctor can often obtain information from a patient that is needed for an accurate diagnosis. Many doctors do not ask the right questions. Due to time constraints or insurance mandates, doctors are often rushed when they visit with patients, and they do not always remember to ask thorough questions. Patients may become flustered when attempting to answer questions or may forget to report an important detail without the correct prompt from the doctor. This may result in a doctor identifying one condition while overlooking another, often serious health problem.

Personal health tracking may improve reporting

People who monitor their health at home may have an easier time reporting symptoms to their doctors. A variety of home health testing devices and systems are now available, including fitness trackers, home blood pressure and heart rate monitoring devices, and online apps to help record nutritional intake and health habits. People who use these devices can generate records of their own health habits that they can present to their doctors if needed, reducing the need to remember health behaviors. While it is possible to lie to a home health tracking device, it is a lot harder than just lying to the doctor. Most people who use health evaluation systems do so out of a desire to have an accurate record of health, so they are not likely to lie anyway. Through vital sign data, answers to online questionnaires, and daily recording of personal information, home health monitoring systems produce a much more accurate picture of a person’s health then what that person can report from memory.

HomeLab by QuantiHealth

HomeLab, offered by QuantiHealth Corp., is just such a home health monitoring system. HomeLab offers in-home health tracking equipment and online health measurement systems that can be accessed through smart technology to record health data daily. People who use HomeLab can produce records of vital signs, nutritional intake, activity levels, and other health factors that can be presented to doctors when the need arises. Doctors can consider this information when evaluating patients for symptoms, making diagnosis and treatment easier and more efficient. If a health problem is serious, using the health record produced through HomeLab could save precious minutes, changing the outcome for the better.

For more information about HomeLab by Quantihealth, visit www.thequantihealth.com.

Tags: Health Assessment at Home, home health testing, online health measurement, health evaluation, home health tracking