The Power of Information

This morning NPR had a segment on the pros and cons of doing medical research on the Internet. The long and short of it was, the Internet is a great way to find information about your disease or the disease of your loved one, but if it's not vetted by an editor with medical knowledge, you need to take the information with a grain of salt. True. There is a lot of information out there, so you have to be careful. Not everything will be right.

However, what struck me as interesting in the NPR piece not necessarily that people are turning to the Internet, but rather, why people are turning to the Internet for information.

The Internet has turned the traditional world on its head. No longer are people subject only to what doctors (or stores, etc.) tell them. People now have the ability to seek information elsewhere in order to get the best medical attention, and to become their own advocates. Yes, doctors are the trained professionals, but that doesn't mean we can't talk to other people with epilepsy to gain some insight. Take, for example, anti-seizure medication. Doctors might try to start you or your loved one on a particular medication. But they, and you, often have no way of knowing if it will work well. So why not turn to the Internet, to chat room and forums to find more information about the medication, its side effects and whether it worked for others? There are plenty of good and trustworthy sources, including epilepsy.com, and the chat rooms and forums listed here.

Now, more than ever, information is power. In fact, it is not only power, it is empowering. The more information you have, the better you are able to work with your physician to find a treatment that is right for you.

This new power of and access to information is precisely the reason why we created EpiTrax. Collecting your own information in EpiTrax will provide you with factual information you can take to your doctor. Together, you can use it to create a two-way conversation with your neurologist to find the right long-term therapy for you or your loved one .