GOOGLE can’t replace a doctor’s diagnosis.
That’s the message Doctors Manitoba delivered Thursday to combat medical misinformation, which is at people’s fingertips on the internet.
“With all the social media and ‘Dr. Google,’ everybody looks it up,” said president Dr. Randy Guzman at an event at Fort Whyte Alive to launch a winter challenge. “But it’s not vetted. It’s random information sometimes. You have to be careful.”
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Dr. Randy Guzman, president of Doctors Manitoba, at FortWhyte Alive on Thursday. The association has launched a challenge to help Manitobans to improve their health.
A recent report from the Canadian Medical Association found that 78 per cent of Canadians are highly or moderately susceptible to believing misinformation and 37 per cent say poor access to health care has led them to seek medical advice online.
Guzman said he doesn’t discourage patients from conducting their own research, but said they must be critical, look at multiple sources and then talk to their health-care provider: “People whose job it is to look at the evidence and make recommendations.”
Guzman said there isn’t one remedy for medical misinformation.
“It’s really promoting and making initiatives into improving your own health and making sure that people take (online medical) information with a grain of salt,” he said.
Doctors have encountered people who take herbal remedies instead of proven medical interventions when dealing with their disease or essential oils over antibiotics or fasting to help with other problems.
“It can cause problems,” he said. “For any condition, you can look up something and find something.”
Doctors have launched a challenge to help Manitobans improve their health. It’s part of the GettingHealthy.ca public awareness resource and includes trustworthy tips and information from physicians to counter online misinformation.
Last year’s campaign, the inaugural event, garnered 18,000 participants.
Participants can push to get healthier in several ways, including by being more physically active, getting better sleep, eating healthier, reducing stress and catching up on medical screenings and immunizations.
Liz Wilson, president and CEO of Fort Whyte Alive, said it offers myriad outdoor activities, from walking and skiing trails to ice fishing.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Liz Wilson, president and CEO of FortWhyte Alive.
“We have a lot of newcomers to Canada and a lot of programming that will teach people how to dress for the outdoors and how to be safe in the winter,” Wilson said.
“We’re used to it as hardy Manitobans, but for someone who is new to our climate, it can be a little bit daunting. We provide a safe place for people to come try these things.”
In a survey after last year’s event, more than 88 per cent said they followed through with their health pledge and 93 per cent said they were planning to take another step towards getting healthy in the months that followed.
Manitobans can register for this year’s challenge, which runs until the end of February, on the site.
It offers a grand prize of a Churchill adventure for two, including adventures such as a beluga viewing trip and fat biking tour.
scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca
Scott Billeck
Reporter
Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024. Read more about Scott.
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