麻豆传媒

WHEN I heard the premises of two new medical shows that use crowdsourcing to help people with undiagnosed conditions, I was extremely sceptical. The medics have failed you, so why not ask some random people what they think the problem is?

As it turned out, I was both right and wrong. The first show, Chasing the Cure, uses a live talk show format to highlight several people seeking a diagnosis. Host Ann Curry asks about their symptoms, while messages and texts arrive, offering support or suggesting diseases.

A panel of doctors sifts through the contributions, debunking the (mostly) irrelevant. This portion seemed geared towards increasing viewer and online engagement, rather than finding a diagnosis. But the professional hunt for a diagnosis is also performative, with doctors listing potential causes and crossing out ideas. Tests are done off-screen, but they are rarely referred to. At the end, the doctors join Curry and the participants to deliver their verdict.

The tone is odd, with a slick studio, game show music and manipulative interviews that mine the emotions of people in real pain. It makes a spectacle of the tough work doctors do when they diagnose rare diseases. I hated every minute.

So I鈥檓 not sure why I decided to give Netflix鈥檚 Diagnosis a try, but I鈥檓 glad I did. It is based on a column for The New York Times Magazine by a doctor, Lisa Sanders, about medical mysteries. In it, she opened up cases to anyone with information to share that could help reach a diagnosis.

鈥淲atching the relief wash over Angel Parker鈥檚 face was very moving, a powerful reminder about hope鈥�

Each episode is centred on one person. Sanders talks them through her process and shares video messages she receives. Most come from informed sources: medical students who recognise the symptoms, vets who have seen such problems in animals and people who have similar diseases.

The first episode is about Angel Parker. She鈥檚 a 23-year-old from Nevada with searing pain in her muscles when she exerts herself, who has spent nine years seeking a diagnosis. We see her cry in pain, watch the worry on her parents鈥� faces talking about her illness and hear her concern about how to pay the hospital. The documentary style of the show creates real empathy for the difficulties of people with chronic pain.

The answer to Parker鈥檚 troubles comes from an Italian paediatric hospital specialising in genetic testing. The doctors there had seen similar symptoms and they offer to sequence her genome, diagnosing CPT deficiency, a condition that prevents the body using certain fats for energy.

Watching the relief wash over Parker鈥檚 face as she heard her diagnosis was very moving and a powerful reminder about hope. This young woman鈥檚 life was changed just by knowing what was wrong and how to fix it. Her doctors also clearly cared about finding a diagnosis.

At the beginning of the first episode, Sanders says: 鈥淥ne of the tools doctors use is other doctors in the room. We鈥檙e making the room that much bigger.鈥� But don鈥檛 discount the public 鈥� Parker met other people with rare diseases who told her they could live well with a similar genetic condition.

Parker was let down by the US healthcare system for nearly a decade. This show and those who responded gave her what she needed. 鈥淔or the longest time, no one even cared. And now, I have the biggest support system,鈥� she said.