One Result Of All Our Education Is That We Think We Make Great M.D.'s

I remember good old Dr. F. He had little more than contempt for his doctors, and second-guessed everything they said and did, even when they diagnosed a rare disease, and informed him he was going to "check out" soon. Yes sir, he didn't develop faith in his doctors until he was halfway across the River Styx:

A Wolters Kluwer poll out this morning finds that not only are most consumers turning to the Internet to answer medical questions, but that they also put strong faith in their own diagnosis. Among college educated Americans, 63 percent say they have “never” misdiagnosed themselves. Add in those who have say they’ve “rarely” made a wrong call and the number jumps up to 84 percent.

As for why all the Googling? About one-third of Americans say it has to do with access issues, and not wanting to wait to see a doctor, while another 23 percent argue that they can do just as good, if not better, than their physician in figuring out what ails them.