Vol VIII, Issue 4 Date of Publication: October 09, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.20529/IJME.2023.035

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The increasing presence of the internet in the lives of patients and doctors: threat or opportunity?

FNU Anamika
Ashish Goel
Amitesh Aggarwal
Ramansh Bandhu Gupta
Abstract:

The conventional sharing of information and education between doctor and patient is no longer what it used to be prior to Dr. Google’s entry into the mix with voluminous data, not only transforming but often threatening the patient-doctor relationship. While patients no longer seek basic information from their physicians since they’ve already consulted Dr. Google, the wise physician accepts that patients are now more aware, more involved in their own care, and more empowered with information.

The good old doctor who knew everything is now more a myth that exists largely in folklore. While doctors may be well versed in a variety of fields, they have often narrowed down their areas of specialisation, while they continue to apply what they learn from their daily encounters with patients, establishing a stronger relationship over time. The challenge arises when a patient, having consulted Dr. Google, starts to question their doctor with the little knowledge gained from the internet. Biased opinions based on prior knowledge, have lately placed the doctor-patient relationship in jeopardy.


Copyright and license
©Indian Journal of Medical Ethics 2023: Open Access and Distributed under the Creative Commons license ( CC BY-NC-ND 4.0),
which permits only non-commercial and non-modified sharing in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.

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