Introduction
Interaction between healthcare workers and patients has changed dramatically since the availability of reliable health information online has increased. Indeed, according to Parnell et al. (2019), “health literacy is an essential element in empowering, engaging, and activating an individual in a person-centered care” (p. 315). It improves patient outcomes and prevents complications of chronic diseases because people are better informed about lifestyle changes necessary for ameliorating their health (Parnell et al., 2019). This reflection essay aims to discuss how the dynamic of patient-clinician communication changed in the Internet era. As the example of e-patient Dave demonstrated, individuals can empower communities using Internet blog platforms to discuss their cases and share helpful information. Although the dynamic of doctor-patient interaction changed due to the abundance of online resources, its downside may be the spread of false and scientifically unsupported information, resulting in damage to people’s health.
Discussion
This week, our class was focused on empowering patients and the dynamic relationships between clinicians and patients who now have the Internet to understand more about diseases. It means that the old paternalistic approach in medicine is no longer practical, and people should receive accurate and detailed information about their illnesses and treatment methods. The traditional techniques used by healthcare workers to inform individuals about their diseases should be re-evaluated because teach-back and paper-based methodologies seem to be less efficient than blog posts and videos (Parnell et al., 2019). Sharing health information with patients has become much easier because almost everyone has access to the web, and many individuals are willing to learn more about their conditions. Furthermore, the availability of various health apps and devices helps them monitor their lifestyle and control symptoms. For example, patients can track their BMI, glucose level, sleep habits, water intake, exercise, mental state, period length, and even ECG. These tools empower individuals to take responsibility for their health, leading to better outcomes and efficient patient-clinician cooperation.
There are particular disadvantages to the excessive accessibility of health information online. One of the drawbacks is that patients may encounter an unreliable source and perceive this data to be accurate because not all people know how to search for evidence-based literature. Unfortunately, according to Wu and McCormick (2018), many websites spread false beliefs and misleading facts about health and diseases. Furthermore, the abundance of this information online resulted in the fact that clinicians are no longer viewed as health authorities (Wu & McCormick, 2018). It may affect patient outcomes if individuals refuse treatment proposed by doctors and decide to try holistic methods, which will not be problematic in the instance of obesity but can be dangerous in cancer cases. Although I support free speech on the Internet, medically-related articles, posts, and videos should be regulated by labeling them as created by researchers, physicians, and nurses or amateurs and enthusiasts.
Conclusion
In summary, this paper strived to reflect on health literacy in the modern digital age. As the literature search showed, people have increased access to various health-related information online. It allowed for significantly improved cooperation between patients and healthcare workers because the latter can now openly share more advanced data with the former because people have a better understanding of medical terms nowadays. However, not all these sources can be considered reliable, and some are potentially dangerous because they spread false beliefs about health and disease. Therefore, I think that online information should be regulated to help patients discern scientific facts from misleading opinions.
References
Parnell, T. A., Stichler, J. F., Barton, A. J., Loan, L. A., Boyle, D. K., & Allen, P. E. (2019). A concept analysis of health literacy. Nursing Forum, 54(3), 315-327.
Wu, J. T., & McCormick, J. B. (2018). Why health professionals should speak out against false beliefs on the Internet. AMA Journal of Ethics, 20(11), 1052-1058.