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What sources do you trust for medical information?

Posted by Scott R L @scottrl, May 31 4:16pm

As you may know, on this site there's a discussion about whether AI can be trusted for medical information:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/about-connect/newsfeed-post/can-you-trust-ai-for-health-advice/

It made me wonder -- what sources *can* you trust?

To be honest, I've gotten some bad information from doctors. It's made me wary of snap judgments, and skeptical in general. (By nature, I'm a contrarian anyway.)

What sources of information/data do you trust?
Advertisements for prescriptions or supplements?
Friends (anecdotes, etc.)?
Professionals?
Internet research (which can run the gamut from "Dr. Google" to published research)?
Personal experience?

If you went to a doctor who handed you a pill and said, "Take this right now," would you? (I wouldn't, not without knowing what it was, how much, side effects, etc.)

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Just Want to Talk Support Group.

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jiatong | @jiatong | Jun 17 12:32pm
In reply to @scottbeammeup "I've been REALLY fortunate to have an amazing GP who always looks out for me and..." + (show)
Profile picture for scottbeammeup @scottbeammeup

I've been REALLY fortunate to have an amazing GP who always looks out for me and goes above and beyond. He specifically asked to be linked to all the records for my various specialists during prostate cancer treatment and reads them.

I trust most of the specialists I see, but within limits. For example, my oncologist is ONLY concerned with cancer remission, my cardiologist is ONLY concerned with my circulatory system, etc. Having a GP that synthesizes this information for me and knows where I place quality of life vs. treatments and my risk tolerance is HUGE.

I trust ChatGPT in the sense that if I feed it a complicated medical study I don't understand it can summarize it fairly accurately.

I trust my support group in that the guys in it are accurately describing their own personal experiences. I realize mine may differ but it's a good place for general info.

I DO NOT trust anything written by pharmaceutical companies and find they greatly downplay side effects. For example, they will say "while on this drug, most men don't have side effect x ..." and then studies show that 40% of men have the side effect so, while what they say is TECHNICALLY true, it's misleading.

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@scottbeammeup , spot on reply

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Pattee Fletcher | @fletchette | Jun 18 1:36pm

NIH, MEDLINEPLUS, Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic. I find them to be reliable and valid sources of information.

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Rubyslippers | @triciaot | Jun 22 9:16am

I asked Gemini, Google’s free public access AI, to compare 4 AI programs for handling medical information and diagnosis.
Here’s the response for comparing Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, and CoPilot.

Head-to-Head Comparison: Attribute, Winner, Why?

For Raw Diagnostic Accuracy
ChatGPT
Consistently scores highest when identifying primary conditions from a list of symptoms in peer-reviewed studies.

For Parsing Complex Records
Claude
Its massive "context window" handles long, complex medical histories and lab results with the best nuance.

For Explaining Complex Concepts
Gemini
Translates dense medical jargon into clear, structured, easy-to-read layman's terms.

For Finding Live Sources
Copilot
Instantly hooks you up with direct web links and citations to established medical journals.

The answer also included that ChatGPT and Gemini are not HIPAA compliant, do not include personally identifiable information in your quiry.

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jewelom | @jewelom | Jul 12 2:08pm
In reply to @frouke "I believe in our God given instincts and we need to make use of them more..." + (show)
Profile picture for frouke @frouke

I believe in our God given instincts and we need to make use of them more than ever before, I’m not saying that we should be our own doctor but we need to work with our doctor rather than just following their advice. In years past we looked up to them and believed in them, we never questioned their knowledge and our trust was given without any doubt. Life is rapidly changing and we have to adapt to keep going, I’m grateful for being able to research because there’s so much valuable information out there, it’s not always easy to get the right answers but you have to be diligent and learn how to find the right answers, truthfully I owe my life to research and doctors that listened to me.

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@frouke
I totally agree with you. We MUST be our own advocate with our Dr’s!

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shmerdloff | @shmerdloff | Jul 12 10:03pm
In reply to @crabby55 "I'm fortunate to live in the Bay Area where we have many great dr's. I am..." + (show)
Profile picture for crabby55 @crabby55

I'm fortunate to live in the Bay Area where we have many great dr's. I am in a healthcare system where if I don't really like the Dr I am seeing, I can easily see another one. It has taken years to find competent Dr's. I 've also gotten assigned to dr's, like the eye surgeon I've recently been seeing that I like very much. Health care these days is difficult. In the system I am in, Dr's often have to take care of so much themselves and aren't given much time between patients. Covid changed care so much. Video appts are pushed. I am not afraid to ask a dr what he is prescribing and why. Honestly, I don't take many meds so it is easy. I will not leave an office unless/until I get questions answered. If a Dr is not ok with that, then I need a new dr. The pharmacy is under the same system. Asking for the manager is very helpful if I haven't already found answers to my questions. Respected cites, like Mayo or Webmd. Yes, one truly has to be an advocate. I found this site bc I didn't feel I was given adequate information on a dx. I have since told the dr so. I think at the time I needed information it was unfortunate timing. I will give the dr the benefit of the doubt. .....this time.

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@crabby55
Kind of funny:
"...like the eye surgeon I've recently been seeing."

Like

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standinginfaith | @standinginfaith | Jul 13 4:44am

Right now NONE..just diagnosed with Chronic Spontanious Uticatia after 6 1/2 years of horror.. and they said "well call you back" we got your copay down to #112 .. which is great BUT I have been in bed so sick for 2 1/2 months since the allergist said I'm not allergic to eat anything.. and I told them I'd gladly pay the $112 .. eve tho it's free to me by Meds by Mail..wiating..I told them get it or let me die.. just let me die..that I'd call the VA (ChampVA) and I have delt with them extensively before my husband passed in 2011.. (had to call the VA Patient advocate in DC to get him a biopsy..and 7 years later after he passed they called and wanted to do a biposy on him.. I saw RED.. why .. you wouldn't do one when he was alive.. well the pathologist in Fayetteville had been working impaired fot 10 years and they had to red o 3.000 he go sent up on 3 charges of manslaughter.. but that was no componence for the soon to be widows at the Town Hall meetings..I check all my charts..and found out I an in 3 rd stage renal failure and have been for 4 years.. no one said a word..on and on.. advocate advocate!! What has happened to our medical system.. the horror stories have given me PTSD and I am afraid to eat and suffer terribly if I do od do not..God help us all!!

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grandmira | @grandmira | Jul 14 3:52pm

I believe that medical advise should between yourself and a medical practitioner. However in saying that given the vast sources of “knowledge” out there it doesn’t hurt to crosscheck , info given by a medical person. But that’s the catch, how does one go about it and is the info valid? AI is not a panacea, it has shortcomings as well. Basically it’s what rapport you have cultivated with your doctor or whomever is your medical person, if there is no trust how can one benefit from such a relationship, you might as well have “Dr. Goggle”.

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