Social Networks for Medicine Require Extra Caution

How do patients determine reliable social networks to help them make good life choices about their health? The answer is complex because there seems to be no warning when it comes to medicine and social networks. Therefore, patients who access social networks for medicine would be well-advised to proceed with extra caution. The endless worldwide web of medical information could be misleading especially for patients who place trust in social networking. More importantly, patients who speak other languages are at greater risk for trusting online information that may be false or misleading. There is more reason to be cautious.

A study underwritten by CVS Caremark and published online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine determined that the fifteen (15) largest Facebook communities for diabetes patients and caregivers promoted clinical studies of unapproved products. The reported rate of 25% shows that not all sources are trustworthy. Patients who speak other languages suffering from pain or an illness may fall prey to such sites. In addition, these sites had unconfirmed identities, which raises serious red flags. This may be only somewhat evident for English speakers who navigate social networks frequently. However, non-English speaking patients searching for online social support are even more vulnerable. They are hopeful they will find relief via support systems who share similarities even across language barriers. Online stumbles upon less than reliable sources may expose these patients to potential harm.

It is already a challenge for patients to decipher endless volumes of online information. It is crucial to caution patients who speak other languages to ensure social network medicine sites have validity and can be trusted. We need to spread the word in other languages to raise awareness that all sites may not hold the patients’ best interest in mind nor do they all necessarily provide the best medicinal support. How does a patient know what is safe? Who sets the standards? Where is the warning label?

MUR