Tag: Dr. Google

Dr. Google in the E.R.

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 29 Comments

 by Carolyn Thomas   ♥  @HeartSisters

Once upon a time, whenever the good citizens of Belgium experienced puzzling symptoms (let’s say, twitching eyelids), they would turn to Dr. Google to find out what might be causing the symptoms. But the Belgian government, concerned about false and scary health information online, came up with a public awareness campaign that warned: “Don’t Google It. Check a reliable source!” This also included a referral link to a government health site that could help to correctly answer questions about twitching eyelids and other health issues.

This campaign was what patient activist Dave de Bronkart (aka ePatient Dave) bluntly described at the time as “spectacularly wrong, insulting, misinformed and wrong-headed.” Continue reading “Dr. Google in the E.R.” →

Doctors who aren’t afraid of “Medical Googlers”

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 7 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

Many physicians worry about patients like me who go online to look up their medical conditions. They worry that we patients are not capable of understanding what we’re reading.  They worry that all that medical terminology is too confusing for us. They worry that patients don’t know how to research complicated medical issues. Patients, after all, haven’t been to med school and may be easily confused or mislead by what we find online.

Then there’s Dr. Joe Ketcherside MD.

He recently responded to my post called What Doctors Really Think of Women Who Are Medical Googlers (republished on LinkedIn’s Digital Health forum) – and with his kind permission, I’d like to share what one physician has to say to his worried colleagues:     Continue reading “Doctors who aren’t afraid of “Medical Googlers”” →