Why Your Healthcare Provider May Be Better Than My Blog

Your health needs more than good information.

Source: cdn2.psychologytoday.com

While the internet is filled with a wealth of health-related information, it often lacks a crucial aspect – understanding your individual needs and circumstances.

Even the most well-researched blog posts, including this one, can only provide general guidance and may not account for your unique situation.

That’s why it’s essential to consult with a healthcare provider who can see the whole picture and provide personalized advice.

What Scientific Articles Do and Do Not Do

As a healthcare blogger, I spend weeks verifying science in every post, reading journal articles, and sometimes including co-authors with expertise on the topic.

However, an effective healthcare recommendation for any individual should be individualized, taking into account their particular circumstances, not what’s right for the norm.

Mr. Rogers was right: You are special.

The best medical and psychological research identifies patterns among different behaviors and physical health (in scientific lingo: associations between variables).

Any given study may include a large range of people and well-designed comparisons.

But no one participant is likely to be your age, your sex, have your social activity, and also share your life history.

Some studies exclude people based on medical conditions or health behaviors.

Other studies took place in one location that differs from yours in terms of weather patterns, traffic, or environmental toxins.

Here’s a hypothetical study.

Imagine an intervention to improve students’ attention in my afternoon seminar.

I assign them to go for 5- to 20-minute walks after lunch.

They take an attention test in class to see if the walk had an effect.

The graph shows how those hypothetical scores might look.

If this were true, the longer students walked, the more attentive they became.

It looks like walking before class could improve their ability to pay attention and get better grades.

However, if you check that graph again, you will notice the orange exceptions.

Two of the students were less attentive than usual after the walk!

One of them had an injury, and the walk exacerbated their pain.

The other had already walked several miles to campus on the hottest day of the semester.

Keep in mind these are hypothetical students; I would not do this to my real students.

As you can see, even the best intervention won’t work for everyone.

What Can You Do to Get at Healthcare for You

My hypothetical walking intervention didn’t get at the health issues you may care about most: how to prevent dementia, how to live longer in better health, or how to feel less lonely.

You may be worried about a new symptom and whether an advertised medication will work for you.

Here are some things to keep in mind in seeking information.

Avoid Clickbait

Every day, a new exciting study claims it will prevent dementia, help you look better, or help you live longer.

If the finding is too good to be true: It is too good to be true.

Be suspicious of certainty and dramatic promises.

Medicine is full of probabilities and tradeoffs; claims of a ‘cure,’ ‘secret,’ ‘detox,’ or one simple solution that works for everyone deserve extra scrutiny.

Check Expertise

Online influence is not scientific expertise.

I use Reddit, LinkedIn, Yelp, and other sources of crowdsourced input, but not for decisions about health or treatments.

Check the author’s relevant expertise, and whether they are selling a product, supplement, program, or subscription connected to their claims.

Some of the best information is a little dull.

Government agencies responsible for public health typically have more accurate information than other websites: their URLs end in .gov.

Respected professional associations like the American Psychological Association or the American Medical Association have up-to-date information.

Google Scholar also gives quick access to information that medical professionals and researchers use.

The journal articles can be challenging to read, but your body and healthcare are complicated, too.

Look for Evidence from Multiple Studies

Look for replication, not the exciting single study.

A new study often gets the headline.

Make sure that several studies have found that same thing.

If only one study finds it, other researchers may find something different later.

Bring Questions to a Healthcare Professional

Diagnosis comes before treatment.

Online information may accurately describe a treatment for a disease, but similar symptoms can have very different causes.

You can do things while waiting to see a doctor.

Keep notes on symptoms, timing, severity, medications/supplements, and what makes things better or worse.

Useful information to bring to the appointment.

Balance what you learned on the web with trust in your healthcare provider.

Ask questions!

Ask your healthcare provider what they think is happening, what evidence supports the recommendation, what the alternatives are, and what uncertainties remain.

You can even share what you’ve read online to get input on its accuracy.

Focus on broadly health-supporting basics.

Prioritize sleep, physical activity, nutritious foods, hydration, and avoiding smoking/recreational drugs rather than starting a condition-specific treatment based on online information.

It’s reasonable to seek a second opinion.

Especially for major diagnoses or treatments, compare recommendations with another qualified clinician.

Good medical care doesn’t require unquestioning trust.

Why You Should Read My Blog

This blog cannot prescribe your healthcare.

But it can help you recognize patterns, evaluate claims, and ask good questions of your healthcare provider with greater confidence.

It’s not a trade-off.

Paired together, a blog can have good information, and your healthcare provider can help you determine what is right for you.