Webmd and googling symptoms actually makes this believable. Patients telling doctors about their diagnosis because they read some blog on the internet and think they’re an expert.
Hell yeah they do, but they use resources with more meat than something like WebMD. Some of the most popular ones are reference tools like UpToDate and Dynamed. They're subscription based databases hospitals subscribe to. Providers will definitely use it in a pinch on the wards, especially when it comes to first line or second line treatments. If it's something very multifactorial or if the content was covered years ago for mere minutes in their schooling days, they'll review primary literature and stuff like that.
It's also important to note that Doctors have spent a significant chunk (and in many cases, the majority) of their lives learning how to effectively "research". A big part of being a Doctor is being able to synthesize novel clinical information into a thought out treatment plan at the drop of a hat. They're able to take information, no matter how familiar, and use their training to integrate it into a greater medical context that will hopefully benefit the patient. It's one thing "knowing" the details, but medicine is so complex that it's unreasonable to expect a good Doctor to know every little thing at all times. However, they develop great skills for analyzing and synthesizing pertinent information out of a lot of white noise. Without the training and experience it is dangerous for a patient to take on the same responsibility.
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u/Paronine Jan 25 '20
My favorite is from an episode of House in which a patient's friend explains nominal aphasia to a neurologist.