1. Whether it's about health or diseases, we can find everything on the internet. Are you sure that what you read is true?
2. In recent years, the proliferation of misleading websites has become an increasing problem, as these often feature fabricated news, clickbait, or pseudoscientific articles. These articles are particularly dangerous when it comes to our health! But do only the purveyors of fake news fail to meet basic credibility indicators, or do we also encounter self-serving content created solely for advertising or sales purposes, or containing half-truths on dedicated health websites? And what about self-appointed advisors? Unfortunately, the answer is true for all of them, but which one is more dangerous? Perhaps the one we believe without doubt! 😉
3. Let's imagine a world: we live health-consciously, and we only rarely need to visit a doctor. If we do need to go, we fill out an online questionnaire about our symptoms, and the next day we receive an appointment with our doctor, who greets us on time with a smile, and if necessary, examines us; if not, they simply reassure us that everything will be fine. After that, we receive the prescription electronically from them (this already works sometimes thanks to the 4. EESZT5. ), and upon leaving the pharmacy, a personalized letter awaits us about taking medications, vitamins, dietary supplements, exercise, massage, and complementary therapies.
7. The treatment plan describes in percentage terms which therapies have what research results, and what results can be expected from one or another therapy, from which we can choose the one we prefer. The system calculates and we immediately receive a prognosis regarding how many days or weeks it will take until we are 100% again if we choose this or that from the treatment plan.
8. During the therapy, we naturally receive a kind video message from our doctor several times, who cheerfully inquires about our well-being and encourages us: not to give up on the diet/exercise/medications/etc. By the time the pre-calculated treatment time is up, we will be well again, so we can send our evaluation through a super secure platform about how difficult it was to adhere to the given therapy?
9. It's time to wake up and talk a little about reality! 🙂
10. Because the problem starts with the fact that we do not live health-consciously. (No need to gasp, I'm not trying to take UpDate Norbi's laurels, but the fact is, unfortunately, a fact?) When our symptoms become very unpleasant, we go to the emergency room on a Friday night, hoping they will quickly do an MRI or at least a CT, since I feel very bad! After all, didn't they immediately do some brain X-ray for neighbor Pista just because they suspected a stroke? And besides, we read on Google that a headache could even be caused by a brain tumor?
12. So after we have diagnosed ourselves first with Dr. Google, we read at least 10 more articles, none of which had a single author (perhaps someone who looks like a doctor?), or a date indicating when the article was written, or a source to refer to what they are writing about, we ask Mom/neighbors/friends what they think. After all, they are more experienced than we are. Now that we are 100% aware of the diagnosis, we look for a couple of Facebook groups (or forums), preferably one that includes „Everything about „...”” or at least has a couple of abbreviations, and it doesn't hurt if there are many members, because then they will surely be able to help.
13. Dr. Internet
14. Joining our new friends, we quickly write down our diagnosis and wait. Thank God we don't have to wait long here – unlike in healthcare clinics, because in about 3 minutes we receive approximately 356 recommendations on who has definitely found what useful (this is what scientists call non-scientific evidence, as opposed to meta-analyses and systematic reviews – which of course means little to lay readers). At the top are homeopathy, which is good for everything, followed by everything from PI water to magic mushrooms, from the ’Dr (understand: apostrophe-doctors) recommendation to internationally recognized naturopaths, we get everything. A couple of die-hard individuals recommend a few doctors, but they are quickly booed down, saying: 15. "They just want to take my money, even though I pay the expensive health contribution!"16. However, sometimes there are a few "suicide candidates" who try to explain what medication their doctor prescribed, but "fortunately" the evil pharmaceutical lobbyists are beaten down like a revolution.
„17. A few weeks later, when we have tried/taken/eaten/applied/sacrificed everything, and when our workplace also indicates that if we don't return to work, we will definitely be fired, we try to get to a doctor. BUT IMMEDIATELY!”
18. By the time we actually reach a good specialist (good specialist = accessible, kind, smiling, attractive, friendly, helpful, sees us on time, caring, has time, and is really the expert we need?), unfortunately, we are already exponentially worse. Fortunately, as soon as we see them, we regain our strength, and with great enthusiasm (=certainty) we start listing our diagnosis, and we happily show them our beautiful colorful images taken during the thermal ultra-thermographic examination, and showing our preparedness, we even engage in a debate with them. After all, we have read every (=EVERY!) study and besides, the doctor is not prepared enough.
A few weeks later, when we have tried/taken/eaten/put on/sacrificed everything, and when our workplace also signals that if we do not return to work, we will definitely be fired, we try to get to a doctor. BUT IMMEDIATELY!
By the time we actually reach a good specialist (good specialist=accessible, kind, smiling, attractive, friendly, helpful, punctual, caring, available, and really the area of expertise we need?), unfortunately, we are already exponentially worse off. Fortunately, as soon as we see them, we regain our strength, and with great enthusiasm (=certainty) we start listing our diagnosis, and happily show them our beautiful colorful images taken during the thermal imaging ultra-thermography examination, and demonstrating our preparedness, we even engage in a debate with them. After all, we have read every (=EVERY!) study and besides: the doctor is not well enough prepared.
1. Of course, the above story is about a fictional person and situation; we are NOT like that!
2. Here, I would cautiously note – before you crucify us for the above, that according to Synapsis research, nowadays 2 out of 3 patients (!) first turn to the internet when they want to get information about a health issue, and only then to a doctor, so we can imagine how significant online health information and its credibility are.
3. I will lift the veil – instead of disappointments
4. Google is full of nonsense. Even if the "ideal expert" is always at our disposal? Unfortunately, this is a fact. Just like Wikipedia, since it is edited by flesh-and-blood people who may not be experts. (But who the hell is an expert??? We'll talk about that another time?)
5. There are countless health websites, although unfortunately, quite a few do not meet the basic credibility criteria, such as:
- 6. who wrote the article, whether they have any health qualifications (no, an acupuncture masseur does not count!)
- 7. when the article was written,
- 8. what it references,
- 9. and what is the purpose of the site at all?
10. By the way, we wrote a relatively long methodological article about this in the Medical Weekly,11. titled "System for the Authentication of Health Websites," which even the desperate can read.12. Kata Matics and Dr. Tamás Horváth. Image source: Health Command (photo: Noémi Jánossy).
14. was named Health Command, 15. and in the nearly 2.5 years since its launch, we have reviewed more than 600 websites, of which we encountered 171 that were suitable for screening, and only 49 (!) passed the system. 16. So that we don't feel alone, we have since established a civil organization behind our initiative, named the Association for Authentic Health Communication, and with the help of like-minded doctors, online communication professionals, and disease organization representatives, we conduct research in our free time, give presentations, and of course, scour the internet to recommend as many credible health websites as possible to you. 17. Closing thoughts.
18. We (meaning the creators of the system and a few thousand health and communication professionals) accept the so-called evidence-based medicine. Therefore, we only authenticate websites that deal with traditional, Western, scientifically-based medicine; we do not screen websites that deal with alternative, complementary, typically scientifically unsupported treatments, as there are generally no substantial evaluable evidence for their effectiveness.
Closing thoughts
- We (understand, the creators of the system and a few thousand healthcare and communication professionals) accept the so-called evidence-based medicine. Therefore, we only authenticate websites that deal with traditional, Western, scientifically-based medicine; we do not evaluate websites that deal with alternative, complementary, typically lacking scientific foundations therapies, as there is generally no substantial evaluable evidence available for their effectiveness.
- Anyone can write anything about symptoms, diseases, and treatment methods on the internet, while possibly playing with others' health without any expertise. This is especially true for social media.
So don't play with others' health, and don't believe everything you read on the internet!
Sources:
Research on internet health information retrieval
11. titled "System for the Authentication of Health Websites," which even the desperate can read.
Evaluating internet health resources in ear, nose, and throat surgery.
The Health Command website
