COMMENTARY Is digital health technology empowering patients?

Reflecting on personal observations and drawing on examples from the literature, this editorial will explore how digital health information is creating the “empow-ered ” patient. There is a saying that knowledge is power and searching the Internet I discover that this saying is attributed to Francis Bacon; thus, the Internet can provide knowledge and, if the saying holds true, has the potential to be an empowering entity. In much the same way, patients are searching for information on the Internet and are gaining information about their conditions that was previously only accessible to health professionals. Notwithstanding the fact the there is a huge range in the quality of avail-able information, what is important is that patients believe they are more informed, whether their sources are vali