Disinformation is a huge problem in healthcare these days. Suddenly, everyone is a supposed medical expert. While some misinformation is harmless, some of it can be outright dangerous.
All over the internet, people are talking about healthcare, from “wellness experts” to politicians. Even some doctors have gone rogue, whether for political aspirations or financial gain. It is hard to know what is good information.
Many patients bring in bottles of supplements that they are taking to get my stamp of approval. No, elderberry is not going to cure your uterine cancer nor is horse dewormer going to prevent you from getting COVID. By all means, take it if you feel you must because I’m not going to force more appropriate treatments on you. However, I will tell you I don’t think it is a good idea and it’s not a medically sound decision.
How is disinformation dangerous?
– Even though something is considered “natural” or a supplement, it is not without risks or side effects. There have been some herbal remedies that caused liver damage in patients.
– Homeopathic medicines or supplements do not need to get FDA approval to be sold. There is no regulation regarding labeling nor are there safety studies conducted. You are taking it at your own risk, and you may not know all the ingredients. There may be interactions with other medications that you are taking and you simply have no way of knowing.
– It prevents you from getting more appropriate treatment. There have been patients who died because they tried “natural” remedies rather than chemotherapy for their cancers. If you change your mind because you are not getting better or getting worse, it may be too late.
– If you accept a source of misinformation about one condition, you are more likely to accept it on other conditions. Perhaps, your current ailment is a minor one. In the future, you may have a more serious one and need a good source of information. Find experts that are trusted by their peers, not the ones who seem to go it alone to sell you their products. Also, look to well- established medical societies for information.
– If it is shared, it can be more problematic for others. Perhaps you were fine taking a certain supplement but your elderly mother is more debilitated and will not be.
During the past few years of the COVID19 pandemic, we have seen much disinformation going around. Most doctors strive to practice evidence-based medicine. However, it has been difficult when others are becoming hostile to science. Medical recommendations should never be about politics. Rather, our knowledge should come from peer reviewed studies. If you are getting your information from some random person who claims to have had success with a hundred patients in their own practice, perhaps you should look for a more worthwhile source.
Your personal physician should be available to answer your questions. Of course, you may disagree with us at times. However, if it comes to a point that you no longer trust the advice your own physician is giving you, perhaps it is time to find another.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2023 Linda Girgis, MD, FAAFP
Wrong medical information, some of it from the most mainstream sources, has been around a long time. The diabetic diet I was taught in training in the 1970s was simply wrong, as were recommendations for maternal weight gain. We probably sent more thyroid nodules to surgeons than we should have. Yet wrong is very different from deceptive. Even that has degrees. Come to our spa and our doctor on contract will send you a Redux prescription. Our comprehensive weight loss or smoking cessation program is better than anyone else’s, many a health center advertised. And during my residency people were seeking laetrile in Mexico for their malignancies. All old news.
What is more recent is the shift in who the public finds credible. If you like a starlet or the law and order objectives of the person you voted for, their views on vaccination must be right too. Or maybe that’s not as new as we think, either. After all, Reb Tevye’s observation of “when you’re rich they think you really know” came to the Broadway stage as Fiddler in 1964. People have always grappled with confirmation bias, believing what they are told when it fits their preferred view. What has really changed is the scale through which our ability to offer our advice and express our beliefs has dramatically flattened the previously established gradients of and respect for expertise.