The Internet vs. Your Doctor: Who to Trust

At a recent doctor’s appointment, my physician told me a story about a woman who needed treatment, but left in the middle of the appointment, proclaiming, “That’s not what the Internet said!”

Because we live in an age where consumers can find almost anything they’d like online, sometimes it’s hard to determine who to trust. I was recently reminded of this when the news came out that The American Academy of Pediatrics strengthened its warnings about prescribing codeine for children because of reports of deaths and risks for dangerous side effects including breathing problems. Even though the dangers have been presented, studies suggest it is still commonly prescribed by doctors and dentists despite the risks and lack of evidence that it works to relieve coughs.

So when a doctor prescribes your child a medication that you’ve read several warnings about, what do you do?

One colleague told me that she has no problem talking with her physician about issues like this. It helps build trust and makes her want to continue
going back to the same doctor. And in an instance like this, there are several alternatives for children.

Another colleague chooses to read several online forums and studies to get both the scientific background, but also information from people who have experienced similar issues in the past. For her, it’s hard to immediately trust a doctor if it’s someone she hasn’t met before. With more minute clinics popping up and scheduling conflicts with your primary care provider, this makes complete sense to me. Consumers know that doctors are the experts in their field, but expertise doesn’t always equal trust. Think about taking your car to a new mechanic – I know nothing about cars and the mechanic is the expert, but it’s still hard to immediately trust them because of the few bad eggs you’ve read about. Which brings me back to this: the Internet vs. your doctor – who do you trust?

Being an informed consumer is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Take the time to read both sides of the story (even if you don’t necessarily agree with the other side). Read online forums and hear from others who have had or are having similar experiences to you. Talk to people you trust – perhaps that trust needs to be built, but I am confident that the more that we can educate each other, the better and more informed decisions we can make. After all, if we trusted everything we read on the Internet, there would be a lot more petite lap giraffes as pets.