Physicians are more likely to spot medical misinformation than the public, though recent survey results illustrate just how chasmic that gap is.
Merck Manuals, a medical reference publication, recently surveyed 2,044 U.S. adults and 263 physicians regarding medical misinformation online and in social media. Forty-four percent of nonmedical professionals said they have seen an uptick in medical misinformation recently, compared with nearly 98 percent of physicians.
Physicians see the proof of this in practice, with 93 percent reporting that patients call with self-diagnoses garnered from social media. Only 20 percent of nonphysicians say they self-diagnose based on information they find online.