Joey M.D.

There was a time when patients simply look to their doctors for more information about what they are suffering from. Or after knowing about their condition, they would scour the bookstores and libraries for any book that would explain their condition further. Not anymore. With the advent of the internet, all sorts of information can be had at the click of a mouse. It’s very easy to type in, say, “glaucoma” in google and a list of sites which even mention the term would be listed.

On the whole, it is very good.

Patients with more information are more empowered. And patients who understand their condition generally do their best to be good, compliant patients especially if they know that not being compliant would result to death or disability. An example would be glaucoma. Glaucoma is a disease which is still not understood by a lot of people. I found that even if I spend the better part of an hour explaining the disease and its consequences, the treatment options and the fact that they might go blind if left untreated, patients still leave my clinic with an incomplete understanding, and, worse, don’t follow my treatment plan. In our clinic, we’ve started giving out more informational flyers so that patients can read more about these. The internet is also helpful in supplying them with more information about the disease, the importance of early treatment and constant follow up (so patients would not think that we’re letting them come back just because we want the professional fees). And they would, hopefully, be more compliant patients. It’s a great tool for information dissemination!

Another good thing about patients who are well informed, they tend to know what their choices are and have already thought about what treatment is acceptable to them and what is not. And they will give you good reasons for those choices, and not just because it’s what the husband, the wife, the mother, or whoever else wants. For example, a patient who knows he has cancer can opt to undergo treatment or not, but whatever choice he makes, he has to face all the possible consequences. A well researched patient will look for everything there is to know about his problem and the treatment, and the consequences, good and bad, of whichever choice he makes, so he makes a better and a more well informed decision.

With enough correct information, an ordinary person can also do healthy practices for themselves and their families. For example, breastfeeding has been something that is somewhat of a mystery to many, since we have practically grown up on bottle feeding. I have a great obstetrician and pediatrician who were very encouraging of breastfeeding, but I have to say that most of the helpful information I got regarding storing expressed breast milk, what to do when my nipples crack, what to wear, etc., come from the internet. There are a lot of great resources out there.

There are also internet groups — fora, e-groups, chat, etc. People who suffer from certain diseases form online support groups. If you search in yahoogroups, there are a lot of support groups for different diseases and conditions. We know how important it is to have a support system, but sometimes it is different when you’re talking to people who do not suffer the same condition. People with the same condition tend to empathize better with each other. They share information about what they are going through and basically give each other the much needed support that others can’t…without leaving the house–because sometimes they just can’t.

Now, on the flip side…

There is so much information on the internet that sometimes it’s bordering on over information! There are so many websites about diseases that when we search we’d end up with legitimate information websites and websites which contain a lot of false information. That’s why we also have to be careful about believing everything we read on the internet (much like the recent blog scandal — which of the allegations are true and which are not?). Not to mention, there are also websites on unproven techniques of treatment which may show up and which people may believe to be true. So, people researching on their diseases on the internet should also have some sort of discernment on picking out the right information from the sea of information that the internet offers.

With the advent of internet, it’s also easier to spread medical hoaxes through chain e-mail (and through chain SMS via the cellphones too!). Over the course of many years, I’ve gotten scare emails on how drinking cold water causes cancer, how it’s dangerous to reuse plastic bottles, lead in lipstick, the dangers of coke etc. Granted, some of these MAY turn out to be true, but a whole lot of them are not. I’ve generally been wary of “please pass” emails and SMS and would look them up in snopes.com to verify if they are indeed, urban legends or not.

Some people also turn to the internet to avoid going to the doctor because they either are embarrassed by their condition, or just do not want to spend their time and money in a doctor’s clinic. They would rather try to doctor themselves through information from the internet, or try to ask-a-doctor via the internet. When I was moderating a health forum a few years back, I get patients who suspect that they have a venereal disease but are too embarrassed to see a live doctor and simply ask questions through the forum. I’ve always said that it’s best that a doctor actually sees the problem, because nothing beats an actual physical examination. One retorted that he does not want to and would just like a recommendation for antibiotics that he would just buy over the counter. Dangerous practice, indeed!

The internet has certainly changed things a lot. It can be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on how you look at it. But one thing is for sure. It’s here to stay, so we might as well adjust to it being a part of our patients’ lives.