Googling does not mean I think I’m a doctor. It’s a sign of being an engaged, empowered “e-patient.” 

I partner with great doctors – I don’t tell them what to do. And they welcome me doing it.

I personally am completely opposed to a patient going in and saying “I’ve decided I have condition X, and I want you to prescribe 42mg QID of medication Y.” I mean, have you ever seen the things medical students have to learn to get their license??

But I’m all in favor of a patient saying, “I have symptoms A and B, and from what I can tell from websites J and Q, that sounds like it could be M.” Explain your thinking, identify your source, and try to solve the diagnostic puzzle together: Collaborate. 

The flip side is that it’s demonstrably wrong for a doctor to insist that their diagnosis must be right; 

And to flip it again, patient engagement isn’t a synonym for “the patient is always right.”

Googling is a sign of an engaged patient. The only reason a patient ever searches for information is because they’re trying to learn more! To smack that down is to discourage engagement. 

That’s empowering. That’s modern. That’s participatory. Do it that way.

The tricky parts of medicine are hard. Work together.

read this classic and evergreen post at
https://participatorymedicine.org/epatients/2015/11/the-truth-about-the-your-googling-and-my-medical-degree-mug.html

 

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