Why doctors must be curators of breaking news on medicine

What if I told you that the oft-quoted saying 'Information is power' is misleading?

?Think about this: you are looking for health information on a particular subject. You trawl the web, and a million words or more on that topic become available. The more you search, the more the information pours off the web, from so-called health tips to cures for rare diseases.

Soon you are drowning in a flood, trying to keep your head above the water.

Do you feel powerful or powerless?

?Information is gold when an expert validates it. Otherwise, it's suspicious currency.

It's a double-sided circumstance when patients come to doctors armed with health information gleaned from the web. It is incontestable that patients have the right to self-educate and empower themselves. Still, at the same time, it can be argued that they risk being misled by inaccurate, incorrect information.

Not every web user knows credible health websites or distinguishes between .edu, .gov or .com addresses.

?According to one study, more than 1 in 10 news websites accessed by Americans includes incorrect health information.?

?In the age of information infinity, doctors need to be the final port of call for patients looking for clarity in healthcare. They must be the locus of patient education by staying up to date with breaking news, decoding it and advising patients. If patients desire to know how they must self-inform, doctors must direct them to reliable healthcare sources.

?Healthcare professionals must act as curators helping patients sift the grain from the chaff, thereby rendering a public service of incalculable merit at a time when information is not just readily available; it is also cheap and unregulated.

?The free flow of information acquired new undistinguished boundaries with the rise of social media. But it also created opportunities for healthcare professionals to play an assertive role by debunking healthcare myths and whistle-blowing on dubious sources.

?Is all this possible in a day's work? Let me put it this way: This is a part of a day's work.?A physician's true purpose is also to enlighten patients. Among the American Medical Association's (AMA) ?principles of medical ethics is: "A physician shall continue to study, apply, and advance scientific knowledge, maintain a commitment to medical education, make relevant information available to patients, colleagues, and the public, obtain consultation, and use the talents of other health professionals when indicated."

?When technology had not opened the flood gates to information, a doctor was the search engine for patients back in time. They trusted the physician's knowledge, commitment, and advice. Today, under the renewed spotlight on patient-centered diligence as the next horizon in healthcare and facing the deluge of information, doctors must redouble their efforts in reinforcing their time-honored role as the guardians of public welfare.