Who really are the experts anyway?
Alexandra Carmichael has posted a presentation called Crowd vs Experts Who to trust for health information? on her blog at CureTogether.com . She asked her Twitter and Facebook friends who they trusted most - fellow patients or doctors for their health information - and ended up with 3 issues she presents in her March 30, 2009 post:
#1 Who is an expert?
#2 What kind of patients?
#3 Does expert editing overlook valuable outlier data?
I won't spoil the ending - the post and presentation are too good to miss.
My answer from my personal perspective? Both. Patients learn from their doctors and from the school of 'been there, done that'. Good physicians learn much from their patients' experiences as well. When doctors and patients work together in the spirit of mutual respect, open minds and education that flows freely in both directions, I think the best outcomes will be achieved.
So then, who do you trust most? your doctor, or a fellow patient?
.
Thanks Alexandra and friends. :) I met her on Twitter. Come and follow us! I'm at twitter.com/Eschnak and Alexandra's at twitter.com/accarmichael
.
#1 Who is an expert?
#2 What kind of patients?
#3 Does expert editing overlook valuable outlier data?
I won't spoil the ending - the post and presentation are too good to miss.
My answer from my personal perspective? Both. Patients learn from their doctors and from the school of 'been there, done that'. Good physicians learn much from their patients' experiences as well. When doctors and patients work together in the spirit of mutual respect, open minds and education that flows freely in both directions, I think the best outcomes will be achieved.
So then, who do you trust most? your doctor, or a fellow patient?
.
Thanks Alexandra and friends. :) I met her on Twitter. Come and follow us! I'm at twitter.com/Eschnak and Alexandra's at twitter.com/accarmichael
.
Tags: advocate, curetogether, physicians
Add a Comment
-
Comment by Sarah on April 25, 2009 at 3:57pm -
So then, who do you trust most? your doctor, or a fellow patient?
It depends. Really. I know that doctors have a less emotional view of my condition than someone else who lives with the same thing I do so I can go to them for information. I then know that I can go to a patient for more caring advice on the same condition. I think having such a wide variety of opinions is good for any patient - they can pick and choose who they go to and what kind of information they take from them.
Thought provoking blog, Ellen. Thanks!
-
Comment by Alexandra Carmichael on April 23, 2009 at 1:44pm
- Absolutely. My answer to experts vs. crowd is a crowd that includes experts. We can all learn from each other.
-
Comment by Bob Brooks on April 23, 2009 at 9:00am - Ellen, thanks for posting this important question. So, who to trust for health information? I too agree with you...it's both. The "Wisdom of Crowds" (great book BTW) shows the value of regular folks and multiple points of view - - as well, an informed and dedicated MD saves lives.
-
Comment by Kelly D on April 22, 2009 at 8:09pm - I agree with you. I don't trust the doctor or patient more than the other. Patients have great experience we can learn from while the doctor provides his/her education and experience. When we worked along with our doctors, even though we didn't have perspectives from other patients, we created a strong team -- probably one of the factors that saved one of my daughters life.
© 2009 Created by Marie
You need to be a member of WEGO Health to add comments!
Join this Ning Network