Read Up, Then See your Doctor
Posted by Christi Larson on Thursday, July 2, 2009
Under: Evidence-based Medicine
As I mentioned in this month’s Empowered Medicine Newsletter, according to a recent article in USA today, the number of people searching for medical information on the internet has doubled in the past 2 years. While books and other printed materials still rank number one, more and more people are looking to the convenience of a forum that is readily accessible, 24 hours a day, no matter what the subject.
This news both excites me and worries me. I’m happy to see that people are taking the initiative to educate themselves regarding their health conditions. I’m pleased to know that people are reading up on their health conditions before visiting their doctor. Then I thought about a conversation I had with a new acquaintance the other day. I had just got done telling this person about the new book I had written, Empowered Medicine; A Guide for Consumers. At the end of our conversation, she relayed to me how she thought it was wonderful that I had written a book on the health guidelines and how people needed a resource to turn to in these tough economic times because they didn’t have the money to visit their doctors as often as they’d like.
As my new friend was telling me this, I thought to myself, “Oh no. This is not good.” The last thing I wanted people to think when they saw the book and looked at the website is that they were meant to be a substitute for the professional advise and care of their physicians. To the contrary, my hope in creating the book and the website was that people would use them as tools to get educated so they could have a more meaningful conversation with their health care professional and take a more active role in their healthcare.
So today I hope to set things straight. In this information age, one should keep in mind that although there is an abundance of health information available at the touch of a mouse, it should be used as a tool and in coordination with the care of trusted health care professionals. If those that read the book and website promise to heed this advice, I will continue to try to provide the very latest evidence-based health information. Deal? Deal.
This news both excites me and worries me. I’m happy to see that people are taking the initiative to educate themselves regarding their health conditions. I’m pleased to know that people are reading up on their health conditions before visiting their doctor. Then I thought about a conversation I had with a new acquaintance the other day. I had just got done telling this person about the new book I had written, Empowered Medicine; A Guide for Consumers. At the end of our conversation, she relayed to me how she thought it was wonderful that I had written a book on the health guidelines and how people needed a resource to turn to in these tough economic times because they didn’t have the money to visit their doctors as often as they’d like.
As my new friend was telling me this, I thought to myself, “Oh no. This is not good.” The last thing I wanted people to think when they saw the book and looked at the website is that they were meant to be a substitute for the professional advise and care of their physicians. To the contrary, my hope in creating the book and the website was that people would use them as tools to get educated so they could have a more meaningful conversation with their health care professional and take a more active role in their healthcare.
So today I hope to set things straight. In this information age, one should keep in mind that although there is an abundance of health information available at the touch of a mouse, it should be used as a tool and in coordination with the care of trusted health care professionals. If those that read the book and website promise to heed this advice, I will continue to try to provide the very latest evidence-based health information. Deal? Deal.
