{"id":17950,"date":"2015-11-30T14:03:31","date_gmt":"2015-11-30T19:03:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pmedicine.org\/epatients\/?p=17950"},"modified":"2023-09-21T20:11:50","modified_gmt":"2023-09-22T00:11:50","slug":"the-truth-about-the-your-googling-and-my-medical-degree-mug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/participatorymedicine.org\/epatients\/2015\/11\/the-truth-about-the-your-googling-and-my-medical-degree-mug.html","title":{"rendered":"The truth about that “your Googling and my medical degree” mug"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Google<\/a>

Photo: facebook.com\/TheEmergencyMedicineDoctor<\/p><\/div>\n

I can’t tell you how many people have flung this Facebook item at me since last night, starting with my wife. :-) It’s already approaching 25,000 shares.<\/p>\n

(Update: at 11am ET on Dec 1 it’s up to 73,000 shares in 48 hours. I’d say it’s going viral…)<\/em><\/p>\n

Listen, people: Googling does\u00a0not\u00a0<\/em>mean I think I’m a doctor. It’s a sign of being an engaged, empowered “e-patient.”\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u00a0partner\u00a0<\/em>with great doctors – I don’t tell them what to do. And they welcome me doing it.<\/b><\/p>\n

I personally am completely opposed to a patient going in and saying “I’ve decided I have condition X, and I want you to prescribe 42mg QID of medication Y.” I mean, have you ever seen\u00a0<\/em>the things medical students have to learn to get their license??<\/p>\n

But I’m all in favor of a patient saying, “I have symptoms A and B, and from what I can tell from websites J and Q, that sounds like it could be M.” Explain your thinking, identify your source, and try to solve the diagnostic puzzle together:\u00a0Collaborate<\/em>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The flip side is that it’s demonstrably wrong for a doctor to insist that their diagnosis must<\/em> be right; the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine has lots of data on that, and the National Academy of Medicine recently published a big report on it. (See SPM patient member Peggy Zuckerman’s recent spot<\/a> on the NBC News item about that report.)<\/p>\n

And to flip it again, patient engagement isn’t a synonym for “the patient is always right.” (See SPM co-chair Dr. Danny Sands’ five minute video<\/a>\u00a0about that the other day.)<\/p>\n

I’m short on time so I’ll just post what I said on Facebook:<\/p>\n

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