Mental Health
Can You Trust the Information?
I’ve noticed that as our access to information increases, our confusion to the information and our suspicion of the agenda behind available information also increases.
Can we trust the information we get from our many options? Even before trust - do most people actually understand the information with all the scientific jargon and technical speak?
One of the reasons I founded this website was in response to a father who was reading a scientific journal on a study that has some implications on bipolar disorder, and he didn’t understand what the study was talking about. The science was extremely abstract and practically inaccessible to consumers.
Recently pharma companies have made their clinical trial information accessible to the public. “Transparency” is the buzz. I don’t believe this increases “transparency” to patients. Maybe to physicians and scientists and of course, competing pharma companies. But I’ve seen these clinical trial portals and I can’t believe that most patients and consumers know what the information means or whether they should care.
What do you think?
Discussion
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All information in Jane's Mental Health Source Page website is for your information and education. The information does not replace or substitute for professional medical treatment or for professional medical advice relative to a specific medical question or condition.
Of course transparency is nothing without explaining the information to patients. But that is why we need to build an open community where patients and professionals alike will help provide such services.