Dr Google is no panacea when it comes to patient empowerment

VUB thesis exposes power dynamic in doctor-patient relations. The internet as a source of information about health is no panacea for creating patient empowerment. That's the conclusion reached by Edgard Eeckman in the doctoral thesis he defended at VUB's Communication Science faculty. He researched the power balance in the doctor-patient relationship and the influence of online and offline information about health, in a study that reveals the power dynamics associated with being ill. Despite patients having more information and knowledge via the internet, the balance remains uneven. Eeckman is therefore calling for an end to this imbalance and for better understanding of patient dependency on current and future care providers, to create a more emancipated approach. GPs unaware of power imbalance As well as being a new PhD, Edgard Eeckman is communications manager at UZ Brussel and has long been professionally interested in this subject.