Doctors ignore Internet at their own peril

[Commentary] Raise your hand if you've ever left a physician's office without fully understanding what the doctor just told you.

According to The New England Journal of Medicine, half of patients admit to not understanding what their doctor told them during an office visit. As a primary care physician, being unable to clearly communicate with patients is frustrating. The typical, 15-minute office visit often is not sufficient for a thorough discussion. A better way to connect with patients is needed. Perhaps that is why more patients are turning to the Internet.

A June 2009 survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project estimates that 61% of American adults surf the Web for health information, with many looking for user-generated content written by others with similar medical conditions. Social media websites that encourage reader interaction are playing a larger role in providing information tailored to online patients. There are thousands of blogs and Facebook groups, for instance. Patients use Twitter to share tips on battling diabetes, or to give advice on finding the right doctor or hospital. But like a lot of the information on the Internet, not all medical content is credible. That's where medical professionals can help patients decipher what is accurate on the Web. And with 24% of Americans reading blogs, combined with 120 million monthly U.S. visitors to Facebook and Twitter, social media presents a compelling opportunity for doctors to better interact with patients.