Where Do You Get Your Information?

One of the rewarding and fun projects I have been involved with for the past 2 years has been the development of a YouTube video program called “Inside the Doctors” Lounge.”

“The Lounge” is part of a bigger project called MD Coaches and is a talk show–like forum that takes place in an imaginary doctors’ lounge within the YouTube universe.  Anyone who has spent time in a doctors’ lounge understands it is a place of respite and where discussions with colleagues can cover a wide range of topics, but most importantly, there is no associated fear of violating HIPAA or other repercussion. Everyone in the Lounge has an opinion, and discussions can become spirited, whether in agreement or not.  

My colleagues (Rhonda Crowe, Randy Cook, Rick Zollinger and Dael Waxman) and I recently received comments from viewers of a specific program where our panel discussed among other topics, various treatments for COVID-19. The comments we received reflect what is happening in our society, specifically regarding how medical “facts” presented in the news media are regularly questioned and politicized.

Surely, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but how those opinions are formulated is the challenge. The COVID pandemic and everything it encompasses has become a topic where opinions have become polarizing, but the information that leads to opinion formulation is the bigger issue.  

Bottom line: does anyone know what the truth is anymore? How can opinions be respected when there often exists a belief that those with opposing opinions developed their belief around misinformation? “They drank the Kool-Aid” has become part of the vernacular. That phrase (a reference to the Jonestown mass suicide in the late 1970s at the behest of cult leader Jim Jones) speaks to how people are often willing to follow a disingenuous source without using critical thinking, and perhaps, a disastrous outcome may follow. It has also become a way to disparage someone with a differing opinion, suggesting the other to be less informed or of a lesser intellect.

Where do you get your information? How do you determine what is factual versus biased? These are questions you must ask yourself, and with a goal of finding the truth.  

We are living in times that require greater critical thinking than ever. Simply accepting statements or information presented in once trusted periodicals, journals or news sources is no longer an option, unless truth does not matter to you.

Dr. Desmond Bell is the Founder and President of “The Save A Leg, Save A Life” Foundation, a multidisciplinary non-profit organization dedicated to the reduction in lower extremity amputations and improving wound healing outcomes through education, evidence-based methodology and community outreach. He also serves as Chief Medical Officer of Omeza, an evidence-based medical technology company and consumer healthcare products company initially focused on healing chronic wounds and preventing their recurrence. In 2020, he joined MD Coaches as an Executive Physician Coach, serving as a peer to peer mentor.