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I find myself once again in the middle of a busy clinic where there seems to be more patients to see, care to coordinate, and in office procedures to do than seems feasible. My ability to efficiently squeeze each free second from the afternoon is tested at each turn. The challenge: extract key history information, perform a physical examination, and discuss risks and benefits of all available treatments in order to finally establish a plan of care in a 20 minute span of time. All the while I am working against a worthy adversary: Dr. Google.
We have all heard the phrase, “Well, I was reading on the internet…” and know that what can follow often torpedoes the S.S. Efficiency.
In retrospect, my dismissive, and at times adversarial, reaction to these comments often made the situation worse. As time has gone on (and I have become more competent and confident) I have come to appreciate a few principles:
- Patient Autonomy: This ethical principle has taken on new meaning over the past several decades. The era of using your body of medical knowledge based on your years of training to come up with a single solution that the patient blindly accepts is gone. Patient’s expect (and deserve) a full discussion of the options (which can be exhaustive) along the risks and the benefits associated with each. The challenge (the art) is to accomplish this discussion in a succinct and timely fashion.
- Patient Education: Here is where you can make Dr. Google your ally, rather than your enemy. Patient’s often do find legitimate information online and in their reading of the day’s headlines may in fact be more up to date on the latest study than you are (gasp!!) If this situation arises admitting that they may be aware of a study that you are not goes a long way with patients. Stating plainly your knowledge of the condition and the literature your knowledge is based upon without discounting what the patients (and Dr. Google) are bringing to the table opens the lines of communication and prevents adversity.
- Patient Validation: Here is the key that finally turned me around…patient’s tell you about Dr. Google because they care and are concerned about their health! They have taken the initiative to seek out answers using the means they have and are coming to you with what they found. The first step should be to validate their efforts and their concerns. The second step may very well be to dispel the medical myths they have read, but the first step should be to validate their concerns, not to minimize them.
Dr. Google is here to stay. Once you embrace the modern patient’s definition of autonomy and their addiction to technology, you can embrace Dr. Google’s ability to fuel efficient and effective patient care.
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All of the opinions expressed here are the author’s and his alone, and do not represent necessarily those of Kaplan or its employees.
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