How to navigate discussions with patients about what they see on social media

An estimated 90% of Americans use social media as a source to obtain valuable health information, including searchers related to serious medical conditions, general health information searches and searches for minor health concerns. Information gathered from social media can go on to influence a person's health beliefs, behaviors and decisions regarding when and where to seek health care.

In an exclusive Medical Economics interview, Richard W. Miller, MD, a psychiatrist with Elwyn Adult Behavioral Health in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, talked about the best ways to approach conversations with patients who have consumed misinformation on social media. Miller discussed what to do when patients request inappropriate treatment options based on what they might've read online, how to handle a conversation with a patient who becomes frustrated and what physicians can do to ensure patients are well-educated, in spite of social media's influence.