I should say that as a person, I love the Internet. I love the world of information and ideas at my fingertips.
I love the immediacy of it to “keep me up to date” and the size of it to offer me opinions, facts (and fiction) on so many levels.
I trust that “my” Internet will allow me to make my own decisions about the accuracy and relevancy of its information.
As a physician, however, my relationship with the Internet is not so amicable.
I worry that indeed my patients will be subjected to a barrage of misinformation in cyberspace.
I fear that they will out of the need for more knowledge or out of mistrust for current information search answers that are indeed ill founded. Of course I hope that patients will indeed discuss their Internet queries with me and that together we will reach a scientifically sound, socially relevant agreement that positively impacts their overall health and well-being.
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According to a 2010 survey by Statistics Canada, more than 70% of Canadians use the Internet to seek medical information or advice. This is an absolute increase by almost 20% since 2007. A majority of these searches are related to drug side effects. Further data shows that more than 60% of Canadians use Google as their search engine.
Recent studies show that indeed the Internet can be a value added source of information for medical advice if used properly.
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Large-scale trials of Google searches have shown significant inaccuracies in the information found through a basic Google search. One such study conducted by the American Society of Pediatrics looked at how accurate a Google search is in terms of giving the patient relevant information.
The study showed that when using a random search engine for medical advice, only about half of sites will be medically relevant to the search you want.
More concerning is that 1/3 of sites will be false in their information and 20% will be commercially based.
A further study out of the University of California showed that people search the Internet for medical advice NOT out of mistrust for their physicians.
Rather the most common predictors of medical searches are in cases where the patient has a chronic disease and wants to be empowered in their own health or when the patient feels that their own role will play an impact in their well being.
This past weekend I went for a bike ride with a friend and colleague. I mentioned to him that this study had come out to show that this study had shows that mistrust of physicians was the least likely reason for a patient to turn to the Internet for medical advice.
“Does that surprise you?” I asked.
“Not at all,” He replied, “think about it- when you went to buy that bike you are riding, you undoubtedly looked on the net to see what was the best bike and why. How should that be any different than when it comes to being diagnosed with a certain illness or being put on a medication?”
There it was. The perfect answer.
Every doctor wants an informed patient. I want my patient to be educated about their medical concerns and their current disease states.
Ultimately it is my job to do the teaching but I don’t always have the time that is needed to sit with every patient and address all of his or her educational needs.
Yes, there should exist a trust between doctor and patient regarding the best forms of treatment but I do believe that trust is born from an open line of communication and a transparency of information.
And so in the spirit of this transparency of information, here are my recommendations for a “HEALTHY” internet medical search.
Avoid basic Google searches. There is nothing more dangerous than entering your symptoms into a website and waiting for the word “CANCER” to appear.
Stick with some basic reputable websites for information on chronic illnesses and medications, such as government based websites (The National Institute of Health), established medical websites (WebMD, www.uptodate.com) and websites of reputable clinics (Mayo Clinic or Cleveland Clinic)
Here are some other reputable medical organizations you can check out:
American College of Cardiology
American Heart Association
Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation
Canadian Diabetes Association
American Diabetes Association
Canadian/American Cancer Foundation
Surprisingly I would have people stay away from news website- often the data is of the moment and changes over time- often its about the story and not about the bottom line.
Dr. Ali Zetner is a medical specialist in internal medicine. She contributes regularly on Global National as a health expert.
*Global News does not endorse the content contained on external links above.
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