Misinformation in medicine requires action | Healthy Bottom Line podcast

More doctors are seeing patients swayed by misinformation, and many say it’s affecting their ability to provide care.

Dr. Gary Price, president of The Physicians Foundation, talks about the rise of misinformation in the latest episode of Healthy Bottom Line, a podcast from Chief Healthcare Executive.

A solid majority of doctors (61%) say their patients were influenced by misinformation or disinformation in the past year, according to a new survey by The Physicians Foundation. Dr. Gary Price, president of The Physicians Foundation, talks about the implications of misinformation in the latest episode of Healthy Bottom Line, a podcast from Chief Healthcare Executive®.

It’s time for healthcare leaders to recognize the gravity of the problem, and the need to come up with different approaches to make sure the public has reliable medical information.

“I think it's a wake up call, but it's also a call to action,” Price says. “I think we need, particularly in our public health structure, we need to make a conscious effort to look at how we've been communicating medical information, look at the way some of our patients get their information.”

• Read more: Addressing vaccine skepticism, without alienating patients

Most doctors surveyed (86%) say that medical misinformation and/or disinformation has risen in the past five years. More than half (57%) said that misinformation is affecting their ability to care for their patients.

There are a variety of reasons, Price suggests. More people are searching online for health information that may not be reliable, and Price notes many are falling victim to disinformation, which is intended to mislead.

But Price says the healthcare industry, and doctors themselves, share some responsibility.

“In the physician's office, it's clear to me that at least part of this has to do with the fact that we're not as good at communicating about these issues with our patients, as we think we are,” Price says. “And I think there needs to be a lot of study, a lot of evidence based research and advice so our physicians can learn how to deal with something new.”

• Read more: Hospitals must fight misinformation, and see it as a threat to their business

One of the most significant findings in the survey is the high confidence doctors have in their ability to help educate patients and fight misinformation. Nine out of 10 doctors (90%) said they had the necessary tools to work with patients and help patients who have reservations about medicine and science.

That seems to be at odds with the surge of doctors seeing more misinformation, and Price wonders if physicians are banking too much on their ability to reason with patients. “If we feel so confident in our ability to deal with this,” Price asks, “why have vaccination rates eroded? Why are we so concerned about at least half of our patients getting adequate information?”

Price suggests health agencies and hospital systems need to find different ways to use social media, and he suggests that it’s not just about posting valid information. He says health systems need to use social media as a tool to build better relationships with their communities.

“I think this is going to require genuine research and a lot of intellectual examination to figure out what the answer is, but it's clear from the public health statistics in our survey that we just haven't been up to this task,” Price says.

Public health education campaigns can eventually have an impact, even if they take time. He points to the years it took to dissuade many Americans from smoking cigarettes.

And he notes that while social media can help misinformation spread like wildfire, he says he’s hopeful that new media platforms can be vehicles for positive change.

“It seems to me that social media ought to be a conduit for speeding up those good changes as well,” Price says.

Check out our full conversation about misinformation in the link below, and you can subscribe to Healthy Bottom Line wherever you get your podcasts.