Should Doctors Tell Patients to Google their Orthopaedic Conditions?
Today, healthcare providers are practiced in listening to patients and working toward shared decision making. Research suggests that patients who feel heard prove more willing to adhere to decisions made in the healthcare setting
Today, healthcare providers are practiced in listening to patients and working toward shared decision making. Research suggests that patients who feel heard prove more willing to adhere to decisions made in the healthcare setting.1 In the age of Google and artificial intelligence, there is now more to this story. It turns out that patients who do online searches before their physiotherapy encounters prove more capable of shared decision making (or what some authors call co-creating value). Amid the concerns about patients getting wrong ideas or even wrong information online, should doctors encourage independent, online research? A growing body of scientific research, including a very recent study published in Social Science and Medicine, suggests “Yes!”.
2 Scholars from Sweden, United States, Netherlands, and Germany studied surveys of more than 400 physiotherapy patients to examine what they dubbed “The Googling Effect”. This is the effect of patients doing online research before their appointments. In fact, this general question has a few older studies answering it, and the current study was designed to delve into the exact mechanisms of The Googling Effect. In the current study, researchers found that independent, online research before the first physiotherapy encounter led to:
- Increased commitment to adherence
- Increased understanding of underlying issues
- Augmented interactions in consultation
- Increased patient involvement in decision making.
The researchers conclude that patients researching online prior to the first physiotherapy visit improves the physiotherapy experience. These outcomes were congruent with a body of previous research.3-9 For instance, Rice et al. found that patients who do their own online research become more likely to seek treatment, ask questions during healthcare consultations, and to make behavioural changes.9 Unfortunately, Gallan et al. suggest that a mere one in three patients engages in authentic, responsible, communicative roles during healthcare consultations.10 This is an important observation, as Edmunds et al., as well as Karen Lutfey, have found that patient adherence and health outcomes are lower for prescribed treatment plans compared to collaborative ones.11,12 Proposing one remedy, Bhatti et al. write that patients need healthcare information to enhance their performance during clinical encounters and to perform tasks as “value co-creators.” They hypothesise that reducing the information asymmetry between provider and patient facilitates the transition from a prescribed treatment plan to a collaborative one.
References
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2. Bhatti WA, Chwialkowska A, Hussain N, Glowik M. The Googling Effect on patient co-creation in physiotherapy service exchange. Social Science & Medicine. 2024 Oct 1;359:117282.
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