Doctors weigh pros, cons of Dr Google’s patients

Due to an easy access to internet and a plethora of information available on the web, there has been a growing tendency among patients to rely on ‘Dr Google’ over visiting a medical practitioner to seek advice or treatment for an ailment.

While most doctors rue the trend of over-indulgence of patients with the web-sourced information, there are some who hail the tendency, saying it had become easier to provide consultancy to an informed patient. Many doctors believe that patients are increasingly relying on Google and in the process bypassing medical practitioners to directly purchase and consume medicines. Doctors say this was a very dangerous trend that must be stopped by spreading awareness.

Some doctors said that an even a more dangerous trend was that patients were referring to ‘Dr Google’ even after visiting their doctors. “Patients start researching their symptoms and often assume the worst. This causes patients’ anxiety levels to go through the roof and they are sometimes unable to cope with it. This is exactly what happened with a young woman from a well-off business family in Jalandhar a fortnight back. She was suffering from a headache. After her check-ups, she was diagnosed with a benign tumour in her brain. She googled the symptoms and came to believe that the disease could impair her speech and even affect her mobility. Instead of fighting it, she chose to die by suicide. I would term the tragedy as an aftermath of using ‘Dr Google’”, said Dr SPS Grover, a city-based doctor.

Dr Grover, however, said, “An over-indulgence or complete reliance on the web over one’s own consultant is bad. But the good thing is that we get informed patients. It has become easier for us to explain to them the condition/disease they are suffering from.”

Dr Gurmeet Singh Walia, president, National Integrated Medical Association (NIMA), Kapurthala, termed ‘Dr Google’ a big menace. “Even a layman is a doctor on the web. Patients need to understand that all information available on Google may not be correct. In fact, there is more misinformation available, especially on issues like health and science. There have been cases where after taking prescriptions from me, patients have used Google to research the medication prescribed to them. They look for its side-effects. If there are more side-effects listed, they do not even buy the medicine. They approach me only after their condition aggravates and then tell me that they did not follow the prescription at all. Treating such patients has become a problem for us,” he said.

There are several doctors who have created YouTube channels to interact with their patients. But most of them rue that the channels of a qualified doctor are followed less as compared to any layman social media influencer who is able to bring in the drama into their video. Dr Walia added, “I too have been running a YouTube channel. My videos are simple, straight and to the point. I keep sharing valuable tips on maintain good health with my patients. But I feel that getting traction on social media is quite a challenge for a genuine doctor.”