An article by Randi Belisomo in Scientific American plays off another one in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, both asking the question:
Is It OK for Doctors to "Google" Patients?
The authors write:
. . . that sometimes, the practice is acceptable. Most other times, in their opinion, it isn't. They hope their paper sparks conversation among colleagues and the American Medical Association about the possibility of guidelines for providers in the digital age, one in which most medical students can't remember a world without search engines.
Well, here's my take, short and sweet.
First, the likelihood that an MD is going to find something clinically relevant about a patient on the Internet is infinitesimally small. Why? Well first of all, there is no guarantee--none whatsoever--that whatever you ready about a patient is accurate. That should be obvious anyone who has searched the web for anything, but it especially applies if an article was written by someone other than the patient. Recognize, too, that the Google search algorithm does not include everything that is written on the web about a person: It tends to present the most viewed articles. Those might simply be about the most controversial aspect of that person's life, not necessarily the clinically relevant aspects.
Even if it an article was written by the patient, though--even in the last hour--it was prepared for a public audience. This is a very different portrayal of personal information than would be communicated in the privacy of the exam room.
Second, the likelihood that you are going to be inadvertently diagnostically anchored by what you read is very high. Studies show over and over again that even skeptical readers are highly influenced by what they read. Diagnostic anchoring is a cognitive error. Hence, you don't even know it is happening to you.
So, here's my advice, doctor. If you really have the 5 or 10 minutes available to read about a patient on the web, spend the time instead with the patient.
Is It OK for Doctors to "Google" Patients?
The authors write:
. . . that sometimes, the practice is acceptable. Most other times, in their opinion, it isn't. They hope their paper sparks conversation among colleagues and the American Medical Association about the possibility of guidelines for providers in the digital age, one in which most medical students can't remember a world without search engines.
Well, here's my take, short and sweet.
First, the likelihood that an MD is going to find something clinically relevant about a patient on the Internet is infinitesimally small. Why? Well first of all, there is no guarantee--none whatsoever--that whatever you ready about a patient is accurate. That should be obvious anyone who has searched the web for anything, but it especially applies if an article was written by someone other than the patient. Recognize, too, that the Google search algorithm does not include everything that is written on the web about a person: It tends to present the most viewed articles. Those might simply be about the most controversial aspect of that person's life, not necessarily the clinically relevant aspects.
Even if it an article was written by the patient, though--even in the last hour--it was prepared for a public audience. This is a very different portrayal of personal information than would be communicated in the privacy of the exam room.
Second, the likelihood that you are going to be inadvertently diagnostically anchored by what you read is very high. Studies show over and over again that even skeptical readers are highly influenced by what they read. Diagnostic anchoring is a cognitive error. Hence, you don't even know it is happening to you.
So, here's my advice, doctor. If you really have the 5 or 10 minutes available to read about a patient on the web, spend the time instead with the patient.