10 Medical Advances That Will Shape the Future of Healthcare – Discover Magazine

A Crowd and a Source

Crowdsourcings basic premise, that individual knowledge can never match collective wisdom, applies to diagnostic medicine as well. Well-trained physicians and other health professionals typically diagnose health conditions. But some things confound even the experts, and even the experts confound some things.

Imagine a future where diagnoses are made or confirmed by a cast of thousands. Its starting right now: If you have an unsolved medical case, you can submit your symptoms to the crowd-sourced CrowdMed website.

Scores of Medical Detectives track incoming cases and, if they feel they can offer insight, theyll jump in to try and make or confirm the diagnoses. If a detective makes the right call, he or she may get a cash reward. The successful detective gets to keep the reward or donate it to a charity that funds treatment for patients in need. The patient uses the diagnosis to seek treatment.

Submitting a case is free and confidential. Becoming a Medical Detective is also free, and you dont need to be a physician to make diagnoses or earn rewards just have good medical instincts. Detectives with verified health credentials can also join an expert review board, for which patients pay a fee to use. For more information, visit crowdmed.com.

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10 Medical Advances That Will Shape the Future of Healthcare - Discover Magazine