Ontario doctors alarmed by the rise of 'DIY medicine'
Patients are increasingly diagnosing and even treating themselves based on online advice, a trend that is raising alarm bells among Ontario doctors.
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The Ontario Medical Association held a briefing this week to warn about the rise of so-called DIY medicine, something doctors say is causing harm to patients and is likely to get worse.
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Earlier this year, the Canadian Medical Association reported results of a media survey that found more Canadians are turning to social media for medical advice at a time when many are struggling to access health care.
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The survey found that 62 per cent of Canadians have encountered health information they later found to be false or misleading – up eight per cent from a year earlier. Twenty three per cent of those surveyed reported having a negative health reaction after following online health advice.
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'In my experience, one patient out of three will bring up some form of self-diagnosis,' said Dr. Valerie Primeau, a psychiatrist from North Bay who leads inpatient and community programs for mental health and addictions.
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Among common self-diagnoses is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, something that is a rising focus of social media posts.
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Primeau and other physicians taking part in the briefing acknowledged there are many reasons patients are increasingly looking to the internet for answers to their health questions – a lack of access to medical care and the growing reliance on the internet among them.
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She encourages her patients to talk to her about what they have read and seen.
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'It can provide validation and a sense of community. It is important to take it into account if a patient brings it to your office, but I never encourage anyone to self-diagnose.'
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Dr. David D'Souza a radiation oncologist in London who leads clinical research into image-based treatments for cancer, said information and misinformation patients found online is a routine part of his practice.
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He has treated patients whose health suffered because of their reliance on information they saw on the internet, he said.
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One patient who had been diagnosed with cervical cancer declined conventional treatment because she wanted to pursue other remedies she had learned about through the internet, he said. Two years later, he saw her again and her disease had spread. 'Our ability to control it and give her a good outcome was severely compromised.'
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