Personally I think this is a great concept... if it works in tandem with an actual doctor you can visit and have a face to face. So if you have a practice, a place you work out that your patients can visit and can contact you using your web page and ask advice etc that would work excellent.
Having said that you have to understand that on the net anybody can claim anything like saying I"m a university professor at oxford/Cambridge/Harvard university, I speak 12 languages fluently, I have 5 hot rods, etc .... but you get the picture. Even matters of the hart, like people searching for a partner, have been scammed silly. But you get the picture on the net ANYONE can claim ANYTHING and give FAKE credentials. ANd yes a healthy dose of paranoia is good for you! Since scammers are getting more sophisticated in their scamming methods.
Are you a scammer in my opinion? Maybe so, maybe not. I do not like to respond in yes /no or 0 and 1
Is there a possibility that this can be a scam? The probability goes up since you will try to diagnose someone you never seen, heard or met in person so how do you know that what they are saying is even real? what about a patient that says that he/she is seeing ghosts and that are constantly attacking him/her(he/she has the photos to prove it) what do you recommend? A couple of sleeping pills and a pat on the back saying "it will be alright"? Or just say "hey go and call your local paranormal gi joe's and gi janes to come and deal with your problems?
Furthermore the "real" doctors do not take advice or "help" from other doctors kindly. They want to make up their own mind. If a regular doctor says I will refer you to this doctor because this or that and I will make an appointment for you ok but from what I've read what you do is this: communicate with potential patient by mail ( besides from obvious problems here How are you going to make a correct diagnose when you do not see the patient? People can claim this and that but how do you know it is real? if you have had any medical training you would know that a" hands on approach" in person is the best way in analyzing the problem and then giving the people the RIGHT treatment.
Sorry about trashing and bashing nearly all your claims but you have to reverse the roles for a second. If I claim that I'm a doctor and you are my patient and we ONLY communicate through mail.. would you go for that? NO you wouldn't because you would choose, just like everyone else, a "real" doctor that has an established practice. Just throwing in some info about my doctor: he has a practice that he shares with 9 other doctors ( some are specialized in certain areas of medicine). He is also forward thinking and has a "digital waiting room" where you can log in and make an appointment. Just saying that if you are indeed a "real doctor" with a "real" medical degree you should do something like that.
Conclusion: personally I think what you're proposing is not a clever idea. If someone with an IT background can do this but a doctor no. you have to have interaction with your patients.
These are my contribution to this discussion
