As the online tools consumers use for their health care education have become more sophisticated (e.g., artificial intelligence and chatbots), a core issue remains: How do doctors deal with misinformation that finds its way into their patient’s minds? To address the problem, the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) offers a series of “Health Misinformation Resources” on its website (see bit.ly/NNLMmisinformation). Medical professionals, along with libraries and information specialists, “play a pivotal role” in addressing health misinformation, according to the website.

Time to take action
The NNLM offers several suggestions for engaging with patients to correct misinformation:

• Understand each patient’s knowledge, beliefs, and values. 

• Listen with empathy; correct misinformation in personalized ways.

• Use less technical language when addressing patients.

• Regularly promote patient health literacy.

One way to promote health literacy is to introduce patients to innovations in eye care. For example, in this issue of Optometric Management, our features on premium IOLs (p.14), virtual reality headsets (p.20), and aesthetics (p.28) all include information that can aid in patient education.

Going to the source
With the emergence of AI, I asked a couple of chatbots how a doctor should address patients who cite misinformation they received from a chatbot. The two computer programs offered steps that included active listening, empathizing, clarifying misinformation and providing accurate evidence-based information, recommending reliable sources of information, welcoming discussion, reassuring the patient that you, the doctor, are there to support them and provide them with accurate information, and following up. 

It may be helpful to frame misinformation as an opportunity beyond fact correction, as a 2020 American Journal of Public Health article (see bit.ly/AJPHmisinformation) reminds us: “Encountering patient-held misinformation offers an opportunity for clinicians to learn about patient values, preferences, comprehension, and information diets.” OM