In today’s fast-moving world, the role of a doctor is no longer limited to diagnosing and treating illness. With smartphones in every hand and health advice flooding social media, doctors now face a new kind of challenge—helping patients make sense of it all.
Noticeable shift in patient-doctor relationship
The patient-doctor relationship is undergoing a noticeable shift. What was once built on deep trust and deference is increasingly taking on a more transactional tone, similar to the dynamic between a client and a service provider. This change has been driven by growing health awareness, widespread access to information via social media, and a more consumer-like approach to healthcare. As a result, doctors today find themselves doing much more than diagnosing and treating. Most important, they are helping patients see through misinformation, helping them interpret health data from apps and wearables, and offering reassurance in the face of rising anxiety.
Canva
Patients arriving with pages of Google searches, screenshots from health blogs, or forwarded messages from WhatsApp groups are a common sight in clinics these days. Many come pre-diagnosed, or worse, misdiagnosed—thanks to what they have read online. While this digital curiosity shows that people are health conscious and wish to remain informed about their health, but it has also made doctors’ work more complicated.
"There is too much noise out there,” says Dr. Vikas Chopra, Interventional Cardiologist at Primus Hospital. “Everyone has a ‘health tip’—but not everyone is an expert. As doctors, our job today is not just to treat, but to speak up with the right information so that people don’t fall for half-truths."
Adding to the complexity is the widespread use of wearable tech—smartwatches, fitness trackers, sleep monitors—which continuously collect health data. This technology has certainly empowered people, but it is also adding to the confusion. Patients often don’t know how to interpret the numbers they see, and in many instances are not even sure if they should be concerned.
Canva
"Smart wearables and health apps are everywhere,” says Dr. Gagan Anand, Internal Medicine Specialist at BLK-Max Hospital. “They give patients numbers—heart rate, oxygen levels, sleep data. But people don’t always know what to do with that information. That’s where we step in. We help them understand what matters, and what doesn’t."
More than ever, doctors are finding themselves acting as interpreters, explaining the difference between relevant and irrelevant health data. Time spent in consultation is often divided between treatment and reassurance, especially when patients come in distressed by something they read online.
The stress of trying to stay constantly informed, combined with an overload of often conflicting information, is also affecting mental health. "People are overwhelmed—by news, advice, and constant updates," Dr. Anand adds.
Doctors say that they have to understand this stress and offer not just medical help, but also emotional support. This emotional burden is particularly visible in general practice and paediatrics, where doctors frequently interact with families.
Dr. Anurag Saxena, an internal medicine specialist said, "Patients often come scared, after reading something online. They may think they have a serious illness based on a few symptoms. I spend a lot of time just talking to them, explaining what’s real and what’s not. That’s become a big part of our work now."
Parents walk in with more than symptoms —they carry anxiety, online articles, and community group messages filled with conflicting advice. In such cases, doctors have to spend just as much time educating caregivers as treating the child.
'People are more health-aware, but also more health-anxious'
Medical care today goes far beyond tests and treatments. Doctors are required to play multiple roles -- caregiver, communicator, counsellor, even a kind of public health educator. The rise of digital health has made patients more proactive, but also more vulnerable to misinformation, over-analysis, and fear.
"There is more health awareness now, which is good," says Dr. Chopra. "But awareness without context creates fear. People are more health-aware, but also more health-anxious."
Some doctors also highlight the need to rebuild the trust that once defined the doctor-patient bond. Technology, no doubt, has brought efficiency and information, but they say, it has also, in some cases, diluted the human connection.
As Dr. Madhuri Behari, Consultant Neurology at Fortis Vasant Kunj, observes, "These days doctors are considered on similar lines as any business. The relationship has changed. We have to change this concept and make the patient-doctor relationship the same as before, built on mutual trust and the doctor’s deep commitment to the patient’s well-being."
All said and done, the patients still seek guidance, clarity, and care from doctors. However, the role of doctors has doctors has changed and they must now deliver far beyond medical expertise. In this digital age, their role is as much about cutting through the clutter as it is about curing disease.
