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4 - Keeping Safe Chapter 11: Quality of health information on the internet Chapter 12: The empowered patient? Chapter 13: The future Overview Throughout this book attention has been paid to the quality of health information that is available on the Internet. As the Internet enables anyone to publish anything we need to adopt a healthy scepticism to the information we find. Chapter 11 looks at the quality issue and highlights the different type of misinformation that is perpetrated on the Internet. These include 'cure-all' remedies - where a single alternative therapy is presented as a magic bullet solution - and lifestyle scams which offer a simple, painless way to lose weight, counter baldness, and improve one's sexual performance. Critical evaluation of the information we find on the Internet is the best way to protect ourselves from this type of information. In recognition of this, this chapter also introduces the concept of critical appraisal and highlights a number of online tools that can be used to help develop these skills. Chapter 12 brings together many of the themes covered in this book and considers to what extent the Internet has led to the rise of the empowered patient. This chapter includes information on how best to prepare for the doctor/patient consultation and discusses the most effective ways of presenting the information you have found on the Internet to your doctor. The final chapter (chapter 13) looks to the future and the possible role the Internet will play in the delivery of health care. |
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