GPs issue urgent medical misinformation warning

GPs have doubled down on the fight against medical misinformation, as patients are increasingly bombarded with incorrect, and often dangerous, social media advice.
 
In response, the RACGP is standing with other leading health voices in Australia to urgently warn patients about the advice being distributed.
 
Following an investigation from Seven News on Sunday, RACGP President Dr Michael Wright says GPs have always been skilful at assimilating information and helping patients make decisions, and ‘that’s going to be more important than ever’ with the growth of medical misinformation.
 
‘For as long as we can remember, patients have come in seeking advice about conditions, and the internet has certainly democratised access to information,’ he told newsGP.
 
‘But now we’re overwhelmed with information and increasingly patients are coming in wanting to understand what’s true, what’s not, what’s real.
 
‘We do know that it’s harder to correct misinformation once it’s there, so I think it is important for us to have access to clear, trusted sources of information that we can share with our patients so we can direct them.’
 
According to a recent University of Sydney study, influencers continue to promote ‘overwhelmingly misleading’ information about medical tests.
 
An analysis of 982 posts on Instagram and TikTok about medical screening tests, promoted by influencers to 200 million followers, found 68% of influencers had financial interests in promoting the test. 
 
It also revealed that just 15% of posts mentioned potential harms, 6% mentioned the risk of overdiagnosis or overtreatment, and 6% mentioned scientific evidence.
 
‘Given that social media platforms like Instagram are moving away from fact-checking their content, the need for stronger regulation to prevent misleading medical information has gained urgency,’ said research co-author Dr Josh Zadro.
 
Dr Preeya Alexander, a GP passionate about dispelling medical misinformation, said she sees patients coming in ‘all the time’ armed with health advice they have seen on social media.
 
‘I’ve had a lot of questions about specific diets for their health condition, the thyroid diet, the diet for whatever it is that’s being sold to them, supplements, people will tell me, “I’ve seen this on TikTok, what do you think?”,’ she told newsGP.
 
‘I am grateful my patients are happy to actually let me know what they’ve seen so that we can have the discussion and potentially I can reduce the risk of patient harm.
 
‘But I think if you’re a GP or a health professional sitting in a consulting room and you don’t know what your patients are seeing and they’re not asking you, holy moly you’d have your eyes opened.’
 
And it is not just social media that patients are turning to for their health advice as more people look to the wider internet for help.
 
Last month, the controversial ChatGPT Health launched in Australia, claiming to help patients ‘take a more active role in understanding and managing their health and wellness’ – a claim drawing a mixed response from GPs.
 
A separate survey of 2012 Australian parents and 1488 children aged 12–17 years carried out by The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne found 63% of teenagers get health information from social media, with the leading topics being fitness and diet. 
 
Alarmingly, 77% of the surveyed teenagers and 79% of parents say it is hard to tell what is true and untrue on social media. 
 
‘Few young people are regularly in contact with healthcare professionals who can be regarded as a trusted source of health information,’ the report concluded.
 
Dr Alexander added that especially with the emergence of AI, fake medical advice is becoming harder to spot.
 
‘I’m certainly aware of the kinds of things that patients are exposed to, and I think there is more and more health misinformation for people to actually sift through,’ she said.
 
‘Even with all my knowledge, and my medical degree, and my training, I actually find it quite difficult sometimes to spot really well-packaged, inaccurate information, and that’s quite scary.’
 
Log in below to join the conversation.

medical misinformation