The Hidden Cost of Health Misinformation

Published on: December 25, 2025

Clinicians across specialties explain how health misinformation is reshaping patient decisions, delaying care, and undermining trust.

Health information is everywhere. Patients can look up symptoms, medications, side effects, and treatment options in seconds before they ever speak with a clinician. While this access has empowered many people to take a more active role in their health, clinicians across specialties say it has also created a serious and growing challenge: health misinformation that shapes decisions, delays care, and undermines trust.

From psychiatry to cardiology to primary care, misinformation is no longer an occasional hurdle. It is now a routine part of patient care, influencing how people understand risk, interpret recommendations, and decide whether to pursue treatment at all.

Misinformation Doesn’t Affect Every Patient the Same Way

Clinicians emphasize that misinformation does not affect all patients equally. Its impact depends on a patient’s health literacy, prior experiences with the healthcare system, and, in some cases, their mental health.

In psychiatry, misinformation can be especially complex. Richard Miller, MD, a psychiatrist, explains that the seriousness of the issue varies widely depending on the patient. Some patients arrive with lists of online findings and questions, while others may not engage with digital information at all. As he puts it, “I think the answer is variable. I think it really depends.”

What clinicians consistently see, however, is that patients often encounter information without the context needed to understand it correctly. A warning meant for a specific population can be misinterpreted as a universal danger. A single phrase or headline can take on outsized meaning.

Miller described a recent encounter in which a patient feared a medication would cause dementia. These worries were based not on a medical discussion, but on an advertisement. “She thought it was going to cause dementia, so you’ve got to be careful,” he said, explaining how easily warnings can be misunderstood once they circulate outside of clinical context.

How Misinformation Changes Medical Decisions

Across specialties, clinicians describe a common pattern: misinformation alters how patients perceive risk. Proven therapies may feel dangerous, while the risks of delaying or avoiding care are minimized or overlooked.

In cardiology and preventive medicine, this shift can be particularly harmful. Many treatments are designed to reduce long-term risk rather than provide immediate relief. When misinformation leads patients to stop or avoid these therapies, the consequences may not be visible right away, but they can be devastating over time.

Viet Le, DMSc, PA-C, a preventive cardiology clinician and researcher, sees this frequently. “We have people who are stopping the therapies, deciding not to move forward with recommendations to start therapies,” he said. In his view, the stakes are high: “I don't think it's a far stretch to say people are dying based on misinformation that they should be alive.”

Primary care physicians often encounter the downstream effects years later. Patients with long-standing hypertension, diabetes, or high cholesterol may come in after trying unproven approaches, only to find their condition has progressed. Jubril Oyeyemi, MD, a primary care physician and founder of the Cherry Hill Free Clinic, described seeing patients whose care was delayed because trust had been undermined. “There's harm in it, there's direct harm,” he said.

Why Timing Matters So Much

One of the most challenging aspects of misinformation is when patients encounter it. When incorrect information comes first (before a clinical visit) it can shape how patients interpret everything that follows.

Le explains that misinformation often takes root early. “When misinformation gets out in front before you see your clinician…it takes a lot more time to overcome that,” he said. Clinicians may spend much of an appointment correcting misconceptions before they can even begin discussing next steps.

This dynamic is familiar to many parents, Le noted, likening it to correcting something a child heard from peers or online. Once an idea is planted, it takes time, trust and repetition to undo.

Trust at the Center of the Problem

At the heart of health misinformation is trust — or the lack of it. Misinformation often undermines confidence in clinicians, medical institutions, and evidence-based care.

Oyeyemi sees this erosion of trust play out daily in primary care, particularly among patients managing chronic conditions. He emphasized that patients always have the right to decline treatment, but only if that decision is based on accurate information. “Refusing is not the problem. It's that the refusal is based on misinformation,” he said.

Clinicians stress that trust is built through relationships. Patients who have long-standing relationships with providers are often more comfortable asking questions and expressing concerns. Newer relationships, or those shaped by past negative experiences, can make patients more susceptible to external voices that feel more validating.

The Evolving Role of Clinicians

Today, clinicians are no longer just providers of medical care, they are interpreters of information. Patients often arrive having consumed large volumes of health content, and clinicians must help them sort what is relevant, accurate, or misleading.

Miller described this role as helping put information into context, repeatedly emphasizing the importance of understanding where a patient is coming from. Clinicians must consider cultural background, trauma history, and individual beliefs, all factors that algorithms cannot account for.

Le argues that clinicians also need to be proactive beyond the exam room. “We should be proactive in being in the social media space, being where our patients are,” he said, adding that healthcare systems and clinicians have a responsibility to provide accurate, accessible information before misinformation fills the gap.

Rather than discouraging patients from using technology or AI tools, many clinicians now encourage guided curiosity. As Le put it, “We have an engaged patient who's curious and who wants to know. Let's lean into that.”

Practical Steps Patients Can Take

Clinicians agree that patients are not powerless in the face of misinformation. There are concrete steps people can take to become more informed and critical consumers of health information.

First, start with trusted sources. Professional medical organizations, national societies, and reputable patient advocacy groups collaborate with experts and rely on evidence-based data. These sources are far more reliable than viral videos or anecdotal stories.

Second, pause before acting. Oyeyemi urges patients to slow down before adopting a new supplement, therapy, or lifestyle change. He notes that even seemingly benign products can carry risks or interact with medications.

Third, talk to a trusted healthcare provider. Clinicians repeatedly emphasize that no question is too small. Personalized guidance based on an individual’s medical history, family history, and goals cannot be replaced by generalized online advice.

Finally, Oyeyemi warns patients to “be wary of absolutes,” especially claims that promise cures for everyone or everything.

Accepting Uncertainty in Medicine

Another theme clinicians emphasize is the need to accept uncertainty. Medical knowledge evolves. Recommendations change as new evidence emerges. This is not a failure of medicine; it is how science works.

Le encourages patients to be comfortable with this reality. “We're still learning things, and we're unlearning things,” he said. The goal is not perfection, but progress grounded in the scientific method.

In the ideal scenario, healthcare decisions are made through shared decision-making, where evidence, clinical expertise, and patient values all play a role. As Oyeyemi summarized, the goal is for decisions to be made through “trusted relationships, shared decision making, and evidence, not algorithms or viral posts.”

Moving Forward Together

Health misinformation is unlikely to disappear. As technology advances, the volume of information (both accurate and inaccurate) will only grow. Clinicians say the solution is not to restrict access, but to strengthen relationships.

Trust, context, and open dialogue remain the most powerful tools in healthcare. When patients feel heard and respected, they are better equipped to navigate an overwhelming information landscape.