> researchers found that searching symptoms online modestly boosted patients’ ability to accurately diagnose health issues without increasing their anxiety or misleading them to seek care inappropriately [...] the results of this survey study challenge the common belief among clinicians and policy-makers that using the Internet to search for health information is harmful. [0]

For example, "man Googles rash, discovers he has one-in-a-million rare disease" [1].

> Ian Stedman says medical professionals shouldn't dismiss patients who go looking for answers outside the doctor's office - even if they resort to 'Dr. Google.'

> "Whenever I hear a doctor or nurse complain about someone coming in trying to diagnose themselves, it boils my blood. Because I think, I don't know if I'd be dead if I didn't diagnose myself. You can't expect one person to know it all, so I think you have to empower the patient."

[0] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8084564/

[1] https://www.cbc.ca/radio/whitecoat/man-googles-rash-discover...

Then you have not dealt with doctors.

Some physicians are absolutely useless and sometimes worse than not receiving any treatment at all. Medicine is dynamic and changes all the time. Some doctors refuse to move forward.

When I was younger I've had a sports injury. I was misdiagnosed for months until I did my own research and had the issue fixed with a surgery.

I have many more stories of doctors being straight up wrong about basics too.

I see physicians in a major metro area at some of the best hospital networks in the US.

This is not much different than a smarter WebMD, if anything, more doctors are using ChatGPT with their patients today than you realize anyway.

Not to mention, doctors are absolutely fallible and misdiagnose constantly.

I have been misdiagnosed and taken wrong medicine for 4 years for a problem by a top specialist, the doctor kept making up reasons on why I'm not getting better.

By luck I consulted with another specialist due the former doctor not being available at and odd time, and some re-tests help determine that I need a different class of medicines. I was better within months.

4 years of wrong medicines and over confidence from a leading doctor. Now I have a tool to double check what doctor has recommended.

Happy for the millions of people who are getting misdiagnosed due to rush, dismissal, and missed clues

I usually look up my symptoms (not on ChatGPT) and when I finally go to a doctor I just let them do their job, but I usually do it just to have some idea of what's going on by the time I go there. My wife's a nurse (not a Doctor) so sometimes she can tell me if what I read sounds crazy or what have you based on her own personal experience with patients.

I hope this puts at least some of the scam artists known as psychiatrists out of a job.