In my Aesthetic Surgery Journal, April 2022, there was discussion of breast implants, and the reviewer started talking about the “internet journey.”
We have all done it. It’s late at night. We are curious about something. We can’t find out what we want to know, so we go to Dr. Google and search.
Don’t misunderstand me. I do not think doctors are gods. There are things doctors do not understand. There is still much to be learned about our bodies and illness.
But there is misinformation on the internet, and just by having people repeat the same things over and over again does not make them true. For many, they value internet information over that of medical professionals. If you seek out an opinion that reinforces what you think, that creates a confirmation bias. Many who do this have higher rates of anxiety and depression, and the “dark web” can amplify that anxiety and feed on itself.
There is a new thing called “cyberchondria.” This is composed of 5 elements:
- Compulsion
- Distress
- Excessiveness
- Reassurance seeking
- Mistrust of medical professionals
When you have a complex problem, the solutions may take a long amount of time, and they may be multidisciplinary: diet, lifestyle, coping strategies. Complex problems are not fixed with a quick easy treatment. It may be something we haven’t identified yet. And some things may not be fixable.
My thoughts?
I still believe in science. I also believe we are still learning. I ask my patients to talk to me about what they have seen/read online. I show photos so they can see what I see, and the range of what I see. I write blogs about what I learn from meetings and studies, and I am always evolving and learning. The internet is a great educational tool, but it has no filter. When you are reading something, just as when you read the news, you need to look at the source. Is it a trusted source? You have to look at different sources to get different viewpoints. Is this a study? Anecdotal? Anyone can go onto PubMed and search published studies. I am saddened by the mistrust of doctors. I have been a doctor for almost 30 years, steeped in surgery. I have done thousands of surgeries. There is still knowledge in experience- not that we are infallible, but that we may be a good filter for the deluge of information out there.
There is a book out called The Death of Expertise. “Today, everyone knows everything: with only a quick trip through WebMD or Wikipedia, average citizens believe themselves to be on an equal intellectual footing with doctors and diplomats. All voices, even the most ridiculous, demand to be taken with equal seriousness, and any claim to the contrary is dismissed as undemocratic elitism.”
Again, I am not saying all doctors are good or that we have nothing to learn. But training and decades of experience do still mean something. And to my patients, if you see something that doesn’t agree with what I have said, show it to me, talk about it with me. Part of what I love about medicine is that our understanding and what we do evolves.