Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Google doesn’t care about your health. See me instead.

PalMD
Physician
July 20, 2015
Share
Tweet
Share

I love that patients have so many more tools to learn about their health. Between Google, TV, magazines and the thousand-word warning that comes with every prescription, it’s almost like you don’t need a doctor. This is especially true if you do the two most important things for your health: eat less and exercise more.

Except it’s not really that simple. There’s a reason it takes at least seven years to churn out a primary care doctor. There’s a reason your eyes glaze over when you ask me how a pill works, and I launch into pathophysiology and pharmacology. I mean, I love this.. I think about medicine all day and all night, and I’ve been thinking about it for about twenty years. When I see an interesting blurb in the news, I hunt down the source to see if there is a new paper, a poster presentation, or maybe just a press release from a drug company. While you are stopping your life-saving medicine because your friend’s friend posted something on your Facebook feed, I’m stopping by the hospital, reading up on new developments that will help my patients, and checking on lab results.

Google doesn’t care about your health. Some guy on Facebook doesn’t care about what’s important to you. Dr. Oz doesn’t care if your depression is the reason you haven’t been taking your insulin.  If you are worried about something you read about a disease or a medicine, why do you automatically believe “some guy”? I’ve been doing this for a long, long time (and I’ll be paying off those loans for a long, long time).

Come see me sometime.

“PalMD” is an internal medicine physician who blogs at White Coat Underground.

Prev

Tips for parenting children in a physician family

July 20, 2015 Kevin 1
…
Next

Antibiotics for appendicitis? Not for this surgeon. Here's why.

July 20, 2015 Kevin 8
…

Tagged as: Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Tips for parenting children in a physician family
Next Post >
Antibiotics for appendicitis? Not for this surgeon. Here's why.

ADVERTISEMENT

More by PalMD

  • From one doctor to another: “I don’t think we’re ever getting out of here.”

    PalMD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Witness to a patient, losing her life in front of us

    PalMD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    The conundrum of communication and uncompensated care

    PalMD

Related Posts

  • How social media can help or hurt your health care career

    Health eCareers
  • Why health care replaced physician care

    Michael Weiss, MD
  • Turn physicians into powerful health care influencers

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Health care needs more physician CEOs

    Alexi Nazem, MD
  • Health care is not a service commodity

    Peter Spence, MD, MBA
  • The health care system will cause its own physician shortage

    Advait Suvarnakar and Aashka Suvarnakar

More in Physician

  • The burden of the eldest daughter

    Jessie Mahoney, MD
  • A doctor’s letter from a federal prison

    L. Joseph Parker, MD
  • A doctor’s tribute to her father

    Manisha Ghimire, MD
  • Treating autism and ADHD as a spectrum, not a contradiction

    Ronald L. Lindsay, MD
  • The silent victories of medicine

    Dr. Bodhibrata Banerjee
  • A cancer doctor’s warning about the future of medicine

    Banu Symington, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • A doctor’s letter from a federal prison

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are losing the health care culture war

      Rusha Modi, MD, MPH | Policy
    • The hypocrisy of insurance referral mandates

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • A cancer doctor’s warning about the future of medicine

      Banu Symington, MD | Physician
    • Was Viagra the best heart drug we never had?

      Bharat Desai, MD | Conditions
    • A doctor’s promise after a patient’s suicide

      Vikram Madireddy, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Rethinking the JUPITER trial and statin safety

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • The ignored clinical trials on statins and mortality

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • How one physician redesigned her practice to find joy in primary care again [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • I passed my medical boards at 63. And no, I was not having a midlife crisis.

      Rajeev Khanna, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors must fight for a just health care system

      Alankrita Olson, MD, MPH & Ashley Duhon, MD & Toby Terwilliger, MD | Policy
    • The silent disease causing 400 amputations daily

      Xzabia Caliste, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Was Viagra the best heart drug we never had?

      Bharat Desai, MD | Conditions
    • How to stay safe from back-to-school illnesses

      Kevin King, PhD | Conditions
    • The burden of the eldest daughter

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • A doctor’s letter from a federal prison

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Physician
    • A surgeon’s reflections on God, intelligence, and being a good cell in the universe [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • A doctor’s tribute to her father

      Manisha Ghimire, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 5 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • A doctor’s letter from a federal prison

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are losing the health care culture war

      Rusha Modi, MD, MPH | Policy
    • The hypocrisy of insurance referral mandates

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • A cancer doctor’s warning about the future of medicine

      Banu Symington, MD | Physician
    • Was Viagra the best heart drug we never had?

      Bharat Desai, MD | Conditions
    • A doctor’s promise after a patient’s suicide

      Vikram Madireddy, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Rethinking the JUPITER trial and statin safety

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • The ignored clinical trials on statins and mortality

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • How one physician redesigned her practice to find joy in primary care again [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • I passed my medical boards at 63. And no, I was not having a midlife crisis.

      Rajeev Khanna, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors must fight for a just health care system

      Alankrita Olson, MD, MPH & Ashley Duhon, MD & Toby Terwilliger, MD | Policy
    • The silent disease causing 400 amputations daily

      Xzabia Caliste, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Was Viagra the best heart drug we never had?

      Bharat Desai, MD | Conditions
    • How to stay safe from back-to-school illnesses

      Kevin King, PhD | Conditions
    • The burden of the eldest daughter

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • A doctor’s letter from a federal prison

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Physician
    • A surgeon’s reflections on God, intelligence, and being a good cell in the universe [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • A doctor’s tribute to her father

      Manisha Ghimire, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Google doesn’t care about your health. See me instead.
5 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...