The web has changed medical practice like nothing else in recent years. Diagnose yourself. Chat it up with people with similar health problems. Gain access to the websites that medical experts use to educate themselves on the latest health topic.
But there's a point when too much unfiltered surfing is a bad thing, warns a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine. Misleading information, myths and downright falsehoods on the internet can steer patients down a dangerous path, warn the authors, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Don't navigate those health sites alone, they say. Be sure to consult with your doctor.
The study offers examples of where self-diagnosis online has led only to acute hypochondria and unnecessary fretting. Full disclosure: I do this. A lot. And who doesn't? It's so easy to ask Dr. Google, as I like to call it and get an instant answer.
But this isn't the only downside to relying on the web for medical information. The study also takes on the trend of hospitals and doctors' offices making lab results available on the web. Sure it's convenient. But patients can be confused by results. In short: nothing should take the place of a trained professional who can walk you through your health care, the study states.
Besides, isn't medicine also about the relationship between patient and provider? Does the web get us away from that tradition?
What do you think? Do you use the web to navigate your health issues? Good or bad idea?