A health misinformation storm is raging throughout the country as people use Google to search for help with their medical problems, often leading to unreliable information, inaccurate diagnosis, and inappropriate and costly self-treatments.
Dr. Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General of the United States, said that health misinformation is a serious threat to the public health of our country as it causes confusion, mistrust, harms people’s health and undermines the efforts of trained and licensed medical professionals.
The explosion of false and misleading health information on social media platforms has created a national challenge for the medical profession. Recent data suggests that 80% of internet users search for medical information and cures for themselves or family members. People of all ages are meeting with physicians and presenting their own diagnoses and medication plan based on what they have read on Google. This leads to growing frustration within the medical community. One local physician told me that many of his patients arrive with information from Doctor Google that is completely inaccurate in the diagnosis of a medical problem, expecting him to prescribe medication that is contrary to best medical practice.
Misinformation is sometimes spread intentionally to serve a malicious purpose, ranging from advancing a political agenda or conspiracy to get rich schemes and the promotion of unproven, even dangerous home grown treatment. For example, the internet is overrun with misleading information on expensive mail order supplements which are clinically untested yet promise immediate youthful vitality, increased energy, a sharper brain and memory and phenomenal good health. Media personality Tucker Carlson shared his anti-COVID vaccine agenda by stating online that the vaccine caused cardiac arrest in Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin during a game with the Bengals, a claim that was debunked by the players’ many doctors.
Other online health misinformation include the medical community hiding cures for cancer, eating instant noodles can result in immediate death and the COVID vaccine inserts government tracking systems into patients’ arms.
While people should take greater responsibility for their health and wellness, I strongly urge health care consumers to visit legitimate and medically credible websites that provide clinically tested and scientific based information on the medical malady affecting them. Websites that fall into this category include the American Cancer Society and Dana Farber Cancer Institute, American Heart Association, National Institute of Health, WebMD and Mayo Clinic. But above all, listen to your physician who has far more education, training and credible experience treating patients than Doctor Google.
Billerica resident Rick Pozniak has spent 30 years in health communications and was awarded the Evan Houghton Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to health communications
