How many times have you walked into your physician’s office only to hear that you must follow up with a series of additional tests to figure out what may be going on with you?
The same may ring true in the field of podiatry. And while most times
this might be warranted – for instance, an MRI to see if in fact you did tear that
ligament in your foot – some physicians may utilize these diagnostic tools
immediately even before performing a thorough clinical exam. As taught in podiatry
school, we learn that aside from the history (the information patients provide), the
clinical exam is still the most important tool for assessment of our patients.
Technology has done many great things for us today. We have the ability to see
things that our eyes cannot physically see through the art of MRI and CT (computed
tomography – used mainly to image complex fractures in our field). Due to this
heightened awareness of what technology can do for us, patients and physicians
alike may be more likely to rely on it.
There is no question that when these imaging studies are needed that it is important
to utilize them. However, it is also key to remember that the origin of discovering a
medical problem lies quite figuratively at the hands of the physician, and there is no
substitute for that. So if you’re be wondering why your physician is or isn’t ordering
this or that additional test or is or isn’t sending you for an MRI to figure out why you
have ankle pain, much of it lies in the systematic approach to figuring out the root of
the problem.
William E. Donahue, DPM, FACFAS
