An increasing number of Nigerians seem to be relying more on medical information found on the internet than their doctors’ counsel, a situation that medical experts find worrisome.
Some doctors say this is fuelling mistrust for their recommendation as patients double-check medical advice and prefer opinions sought online.
Rapid access to medical information is one of the benefits of information communication technology explosions of the 21st century with unprecedented rise in the use of social media and internet search engines, especially Google.
However, the concern for doctors is that many people now second-guess medical advice from doctors and rather rely on results of internet searches. Others follow advice shared on WhatsApp and other platforms that have not been verified. Doctors are now calling for caution regarding medical information sourced from the internet and chat rooms.
Uzoma Onuoha, a gynaecologist at the Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, said social media is a new-found leverage over doctors where patients can speak publicly about their experiences and influence other prospective patients.
“Patients lack the medical knowledge to evaluate whether the doctor gave sound medical advice or not. So many patients criticize their doctor’s medical advice but the doctor cannot respond adequately due to confidentiality obligations, but the truth of the matter is that social media is not the right alternative for a better medical advice,” said Onuoha.
Onuoha further said one cannot always trust the veracity of medical advice online, adding that the fact that something works for somebody does not guarantee it would also work for the next person.
“Journal websites have fake health stories as much as doctors do. People should disregard most of the messages sent on social media because most of them are not coming from reputable and confirmed sources,” said Onuoha
“The use of social media by patients can possibly have public health implications; it has both positive and negative side. My concern is that most of the information on social media about healthcare is not credible and the people share these stories without verification,” said Lanre Yusuf, a medical practitioner based in Lagos.
“Some patients are exposed directly or indirectly to this information, which might contain faulty medical evidence and could be possibly hazardous,” he said.
Doyin Odubanjo, a public health expert based in Lagos, said relying on unverified internet advice puts people more at risk.
“Sometimes a lot of people get to read many things that will not help, they might be totally wrong. Recall when Ebola occurred and people were advised to drink salt water and many people drank the salt water, it just took 48 hours and we were already recording people dying from having taken salt water because they got their information from the wrong sources,” said Odubanjo.
“So, just like every other times, information is only as good as its source. People must apply that same rule to health information. You must be sure of whoever is putting up any information is the authorised source to do, otherwise you should not follow such information,” he said.
Ojo Sikiru, another Lagos-based medical practitioner, also warned that relying on health information from social media platforms may jeopardise a patient’s health.
“It is advisable we all educate ourselves but that should not take away the human touch of consulting a professional,” Sikiru said.
He added, however, that while it is not wrong to get helpful medical information regarding how to protect oneself from common diseases, “when you have a particular medical issue and you check what looks like that up on Google and you feel that should be enough to take care of yourself, that should be an angle you need to be educated on”.
He also emphasised that the diagnosis and treatment applicable to a particular patient may not be applicable to another, saying a patient needs to visit the doctor with symptoms so that necessary investigations will be done and a diagnosis for the patient established.
“Internet has come to stay with us, but we should apply caution to how it is used, especially with health-related matters,” said Sikiru.
Anthonia Obokoh
