Health and Social Media

There are a lot of ways to get health information -- from family, from friends, from the news media, from an actual living breathing doctor or nurse.  And, of course, there's that Internet thing.

Social media in particular are a growing source of health information, but ethical issues come up when doctors and patients use such avenues to connect, at least according to this story.  If you scroll to the story bottom you'll see an interesting bit of info on how much social media influence health care decisions. On a 1-to-5 scale, with "5" being high, 12 percent said it influences such decisions.  Twenty-one percent said a "1" meaning it never really has any influence.

I can see this.  In terms of what people know, especially about their own health, we often appeal to a "wisdom of the crowd," especially if in that crowd is our doctor, or any doctor, and others with some expertise, along with people who have the same shared problems.  It's the brave new health world.