Article: How to talk to your doctor about information you find online

[Andy]

More and more people are going online to search for information about their health. Though it can be a minefield, where unverified sources abound, searching the internet can help people to understand different health problems, and give them access to emotional and social support.

For many in the UK, getting to actually see a GP remains difficult, and constraints around appointment times mean that some discussions are often cut short. But by using the internet, patients can prepare for appointments, or follow up on issues that were raised in the consulting room but left them with unanswered questions.

But not everyone is so keen on patients using the internet in this way. Some GPs and other heath professionals have doubts about the quality and usefulness of the information available. There are also suggestions that “cyberchrondria” may be fuelling a surge in unnecessary tests and appointments.

Similarly, though so many people are using online resources to fill in gaps in their knowledge, or to help them ask the right questions, they may not be comfortable bringing it up in the consulting room.

https://theconversation.com/how-to-talk-to-your-doctor-about-information-you-find-online-86716

 

[Valentijn]

Alternative title: "How to kiss the ass of an egomaniac who has the power to make you suffer."

Summary of their answer: "Don't try to have an opinion or understand the information yourself, just ask him to evaluate the information for you. Then he can explain why patients can't understand medical information from the internet, and teach you how to avoid the internet and stop worrying about your health."

More seriously, it's pretty poor article, when it comes to patient empowerment:

Tell them you have been looking online, but ask for their feedback on the information, and for any useful sites they know of.

The doctor must remain in control:

Importantly, it is not about the patient trying to be the doctor. Ideally, patients should bring along their information, use it to help explain their key concerns, or detail the options they’ve explored, but also make clear that they still want and value their GP’s input on their findings.

Gathering your online research is a great opportunity for the doctor to point you in the right direction, because obviously a lone patient on the internet will have gone in the wrong direction:

In the consulting room itself, GPs should use the research as an opportunity to have more productive discussions, and use it as a way to teach patients more about their own health issues. They need to question the information source, message and credibility, but GPs could also use it as an opportunity to nudge patients to think about their health options and consider what’s important to them.

There is absolutely no acknowledgement that the patient will often know more about their problems than the GP, nor any responsibility placed on the GP to seriously consider the information brought to them. The article basically just undermines the confidence of anyone trying to look into their own problems, whereas instructions on how to research symptoms while avoiding quack sites would have been much more helpful.

 

[Arnie Pye]

@Valentijn You'd get another 100 likes from me if it was possible, just for the first sentence of your post!