Last Updated on April 5, 2024 by Partha Protim Choudhury
Dr Megha Mazumder is a consultant pathologist currently affiliated with Burdwan Medical College. She pursued her MBBS from RG Kar Medical College and obtained an MD degree from Burdwan Medical College. With over a decade of experience, she is presently serving as a Senior Resident at Burdwan Medical College. As a medical practitioner, she too is concerned about misinformation surrounding health.
When a patient explains to you about their health problems, what are the most common mistakes they make in their communication?
One of the most common mistakes people make when communicating with a doctor is that they are unable to articulate their symptoms. Often, they describe their symptoms using vague language that may not effectively convey their situation.
What does health literacy mean to you, and why is it important in patient care?
To me, health literacy means patients having a grasp of rudimentary medical terminologies to accurately describe their symptoms. It’s essential to educate people about appropriate terminology to guarantee a clear understanding of their condition. Otherwise, misunderstanding their symptoms could potentially result in incorrect diagnosis and treatment.
If a patient is knowledgeable about the basics of their health condition, how helpful is it for the overall treatment procedure?
When a patient is cooperative, it greatly helps in formulating a provisional diagnosis, consequently facilitating more effective management of the patient’s condition.
How much can medical misinformation impact treatment procedures?
Medical misinformation obviously impacts treatment procedures in a huge way. Most of the times due to such misinformation patients do get incorrectly diagnosed and treated.
What are the most common myths or misinformation you see your patients falling prey to?
The most common misinformation the patients have is that the tests given to them are not useful at all. Especially, when the investigation results are normal. They do not understand that the investigations are done only for their own benefits and in order to diagnose their condition properly.
What is your most common advice to patients to stay away from health misinformation online?
I would like to tell them not to fall prey to such misleading information and they should properly read and research before coming to any such conclusions. That means health literacy will be of importance.
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