There is no doubt that one of the most profound transformations in medicine is happening right now. It’s not a drug or a stent or a new therapy—it’s Google. Fifteen years ago, Google set out on a mission “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful” and, in doing so, transformed the global information landscape. In recent years, Google has digitized the vast majority of the world’s libraries, and the majority of published medical content is within reach in seconds.

It wasn’t that long ago that when the general public wanted medical information, they had to rummage through dense textbooks or ask their physician. Today, though, anything and everything about medicine are online. Drug reviews, detailed treatment options, symptom checklists, and forums…all seconds away. Some Web sites even offer features in which one can list their symptoms then receive a diagnosis and treatment options on the spot. This raises the following questions: If Google can so profoundly impact the way we practice medicine today, will it impact the future role of physicians? Will patients seek consultation and prescriptions solely via the Web? Will they seek advice strictly from Google, rather than making an appointment with their physician?

The information that patients seek online often goes beyond strict medical science. Just this past week, four of my patients told me that, before coming to the hospital, they made sure to Google me. One family member even went as far as to recite parts my resume to me from his Iphone outside the OR. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this. Is this widespread access to medical information a good thing? How should doctors adapt to this new Google world? And how can we make it work for us?

In answering the first question, it’s a mixed bag. The fact that the general public can be more educated about their health is an undeniably empowering and beautiful thing. It enables patients to independently research their options, and gives them the ability to garner an “outside” opinion about their condition and treatment. While some physicians are excited that patients are more engaged, others often feel frustrated by this “outside opinion.” The Web is littered with unreliable, misleading, and biased information, and when patients view what they see online as on par with a professional consultation, physicians feel cheapened and concerned since misinterpreting symptoms and/or taking the word of an anonymous author can have fatal consequences. However, if physicians embrace the fact that patients are going to search online, and thus direct them to reliable sites and journals, the patients may understand that not everything posted on the Web is scientific fact. This will, in turn, benefit both the physician and the patient.

In fact, physicians can gain a lot from online medicine. First and foremost, it is useful when a question is raised perhaps during medical rounds and the answer is immediately available via a smartphone. Simply stated, finding information related to a drug, a disease, a prescription, or a manuscript takes seconds via Google versus hours spent diving into medical texts. Second, by directing patients to certain online sources over others, physicians can both control the information patients are exposed to and be better prepared to answer questions, all the while providing a reliable source of consultation for the patient after they’ve met.

So how can physicians use a Google search to their advantage? One should Google themselves and discover exactly what’s written about them online. One way to control the information is to add a personal Wikipedia page, which includes the physician’s bio, experience, references, etc. Hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Prior to meeting with a patient, it may be helpful to Google the most common questions asked by patients in relation to their medical condition. This way, at least, the physician is armed with the same information the patient has gathered prior to his or her visit. Physicians can further use Google to their advantage by simply recognizing that they themselves are being researched, and they may want to build a solid online reference to market themselves.

To do this, one can maintain an updated personal bio, publish a Wikipedia page, and make sure that all of their published work appear online. By flooding the Web with experiences, references, and biographical information, physicians can promote themselves to future patients. After all, to many, the doctor is just as important as the procedure.

There is no doubt that the Internet and Google have changed the patient/physician dynamic. Patients are searching for the best health information and the best physicians. By embracing this online revolution and providing patients with reliable medical and biographical information, physicians can promote themselves and stay current at the same time. Those who ignore this trend may soon find themselves obsolete.