Interesting as it seems like this discussion is happening in other places as well.
From Calley Means. Former lobbyist. (And please don't turn this political as his sister, Stanford MD Dr. Casey Means was nominated for Surgeon General.)
My point is this conversation seems to be happening a lot.
I recently had a conversation with a friend who runs a clinic network of 1,000+ MDs.
She said the main conversation among doctors is frustration that patients are asking about the "root cause" and "more natural cures" for their conditions.
She said 0% of patients asked these questions five years ago, and now 80% of patients do.
Her doctors see this trend as a negative thing, and spend their time deriding the MAHA movement and social media personalities in the breakroom.
These clinics focus on dermatology and make money selling drugs and procedures. Many dermatological issues are tied to root cause issues (diet/lifestyle) and not a lack of cream or injection.
On Reddit boards, countless medical professionals are decrying these "root cause" questions.
I think this represents a major shift/dynamic happening in medicine that should be openly discussed. Are patients' right to be asking more questions about the root cause, or are the doctors right to be deriding Americans for taking health into their own hands? To be asking about food, exercise, over-medicalization, and lifestyle habits...
Should patients trust their doctors on chronic disease management? Can patients actually reverse their conditions and thrive if they explore the root cause? Are the answers simpler and more under our control than we believe?
I think the answer is clearly yes. I hope the trend of patients asking doctors for the root cause doesn't slow down, and it not only changes how we practice medicine, but also changes our culture to be more empowered.
If you have an acute condition that will kill you right away, see your doctor and listen to them. Our system is a miracle at addressing these acute issues. But that's less than 10% of our spending.
Our system's failure at chronic disease management has economic, national defense, and spiritual effects that are existential.
We need to have respect for our food and our soil. We need to cherish breastfeeding and natural food... We need to ensure kids are away from their phones and outside running around... We need to rejuvenate a grounding in the spiritual...
These are the messages our healthcare leaders should be repeating again and again - and that light is starting to shine through, despite aggressive resistance from hard-working doctors whose income and identity are undeniably tied to the broken status quo.
Very interesting that this is becoming a bigger topic. Part of me is glad to see this — information is a good thing, self advocacy is a good thing, wanting to take care of your own health is a good thing.
Part of me is saddened because — let’s be honest here — this trend accelerated massively due to vaccine mandates. We were already headed that way with stupid people like my cousin believing that vaccines cause autism because Jenny McCarthy told her it was true. This is bat **** crazy of course, but unfortunately it is the darker side of self advocacy. And it is, IMHO, the OPs original intent when talking about the phrase “do your own research.” It really means “I have the answer already, from my next door neighbor Gladys, and I’m not leaving the doctor’s office satisfied until he/she agrees with the expert opinion of Gladys, who did the research herself.”
On the flip side, I’ve had direct personal experience with doctors not knowing the answers, but not admitting that they don’t know. And not showing any urgency to find the answers. My FIL has Parkinson’s, probably dementia too. But we don’t know, because nobody knows for sure what his diagnosis is. 2-3 GPs and multiple specialists have arrived at varying answers over the past SIX TO SEVEN YEARS.
Now before all the FBGs doctors jump in here to slam me, my BIL is a rheumatologist. Two of the experts we’ve seen are in his large teaching hospital. We’ve had the same possible diagnosis 3 times in 7 years — ruled out multiple times because “one small item simply doesn’t fit.” Only to circle back to that same diagnosis for each doctor that sees him. Why?
My BIL thinks this is all normal. Even though he admits that it isn’t. He’s unwilling to question or challenge anything the other doctors say, even when they say illogical things. We treat doctors like gods, but they are simply just people. Really knowledgeable and well trained people. Usually very well intentioned people.
But they are humans. They all have strengths and weaknesses. They (mostly) have confirmation bias just like (most) other human beings. And bluntly, not all of them are that smart, and not all of them are able to handle tough logic puzzles — but for a specialist, that’s actually their job much of the time!
So yeah — I “do my own research” sometimes. And I ask questions. And poke. And prod. And make doctors mildly uncomfortable at times.
But I also know I’m not the expert. Not the doctor. I’m an advocate for myself and my family. And also at the core more logical and problem-solving adept than 95+% of doctors.
