Doctor-patient relationship in the age of Internet and misinformation India news

The goal was to celebrate these healthcare heroes and focus on the challenges they face. Titled: National Doctors Day. a tribute to our health torchbearers, this one-day webinar was broadcast on TOI’s FB platform on July 1. It included various panel discussions on a variety of topics, from physician burnout and the age of telemedicine to physician violence, doctor-patient in a relationship the internet age and misinformationand much more.
In today’s digital age, we face the challenge of an overload of unverified and conflicting information available on the Internet.
The abundance of this misleading content has created negative awareness among the masses, often straining the relationship between patients and doctors. in the session dedicated to The doctor-patient relationship in the age of the Internet and misinformationOur panel of distinguished physicians understands the importance of reliable sources of information that enable patients to make informed decisions and promote effective communication with healthcare providers.
The discussion includes Dr. Ashok Seth, Chairman, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute and Fortis Healthcare Medical Board, Dr. Sanjeev Bagai, Chairman, Nephron Clinic, Dr. HS Chhabra, Head, Spine and Rehabilitation Center, Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute and Dr. Girish Tyagi, Secretary, Delhi Medical with the secretary of the board.
“We are often faced with the question whether the Internet destroys the doctor-patient relationship. Well, I think it’s been reinforced in the Internet age,” said Dr. Seth. He believes the Internet enables patients to get the information they need to make informed decisions. “With the evolution of science and medicine, many sophisticated techniques have emerged, and some of them are for very serious diseases. The fact that something that was a treatment option nearly 20 years ago has become obsolete is confusing to everyone today, especially patients. But they need the right information to be part of the decision-making process. Example: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation. If I have to explain this complicated procedure to my patients, I have to spend 30 minutes to 40 minutes. So I ask them to search the internet and then come back to me with their questions. This simplifies and speeds up the process, while strengthening the doctor-patient connection,” he said.
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Echoing similar sentiments about the importance of patient involvement in health care decision-making, Dr. Tyagi said: “Patients and their families should be allowed to ask open-ended questions to doctors. Shared decision making can be successful through effective, two-way communication between physician and patient. In addition, doctors should have the habit of active listening. When the patient is examined, they should be told about the treatment options available, their benefits and complications, the precautions required, and the alternatives. This will lead to informed consent.”
He notes that poor communication between the doctor and the patient leads to many complications, including violence. An effective one will foster a healthy relationship between them while promoting shared decision-making, which is essential for successful treatment options.
“We, at the Medical Council of Delhi, emphasize the importance of ABCDE. A stands for access (of doctors), B stands for behaviour, C stands for communication and consent, D stands for decision and E stands for compassion,” said Dr Tyagi.
One of the main challenges patients face when it comes to making informed decisions is the availability of conflicting information from different sources. This is where open dialogues between doctors and patients come to the rescue.
“We physicians have an ethical obligation to try to create a therapeutic alliance with our patients. We must first try to identify the source of their information, and then help them evaluate the merits of the source itself. While there are benefits to trying to get information from a trusted source, it should all be considered on its merits and should not be blindly trusted,” says Dr. Chhabra. Doctors should help patients make wise judgments about the credibility of their sources, he said.
“We always have to reassure our patients that they can always come back to us if they have concerns or come across any other ideas or information. In summary, the patient’s perspective is very important and should be acknowledged, but it is our duty to guide them to evidence-based practices and the right sources of information,” said Dr. Chhabra.
While conflicting information is a major challenge, another factor contributing to confusion among patients is inaccurate information.
“Look at the articles that were published in the first year of the epidemic in peer-reviewed journals. Of these, 36 percent were retracted due to inaccuracy, flawed methodology, or falsified data interpretation. As medical professionals, we need to be careful where we read our information. “Doctors must be trained to read and critically analyze data,” said Dr. Bagai.
He believes that state medical associations, national bodies and the government should make connections between medical professionals and the people who actually publish them, not only in print but also on the Internet. According to him, this can reduce the possibility of disinformation.
“I think Twitter is a great medium where internationally renowned figures can come together and share their thoughts on certain articles, methodologies, processes or treatments. Also, we as medical professionals need to be honest with people and be clear in our communication,” added Dr. Bagai.