Quality health information should be recognized as a core determinant of health and extended to economic, social, environmental, commercial, legal, and emotional factors, according to the authors of a Nature Medicine article led by Lawrence O. Gostin, Georgetown University Law Center and World Health Organization Center on Global Health Law, Washington, DC.

“Society is at a turning point, faced with misleading guidance and ubiquitous, fast-spreading digital and social media,” the authors wrote. They noted that the World Health Forum and the United Nations classify misinformation and disinformation among the leading global risks.

Recent data from Italy reinforced this concern. Speaking with Univadis Italy, part of the Medscape Professional Network, Nicola Miglino, president of the National Union of Medical and Scientific Information, the association of journalists working on health, scientific research, and healthcare, said, “Recently, Artificial Health, the first study in Italy to scientifically measure how AI is transforming Italians’ relationship with healthcare and doctors, revealed that 94% of our fellow citizens seek medical information online. Overall, 43% already use ChatGPT and generative AI for health purposes, and 14% change their treatments without consulting their doctor.”

Context Matters

The authors defined quality health information as “scientifically sound, accessible, clear, understandable, and essential for appropriate decision-making that improves health.” Poor-quality information can undermine trust in science and health institutions.

Health literacy, defined as the ability to understand and use health information, remains a critical yet underdeveloped part across populations. This gap is concerning because traditional authoritative sources, including clinicians and public health institutions, are increasingly being replaced by digital and social media, whereas conventional media struggle to keep pace.

The rapid spread of misleading information on digital platforms is a major challenge for ensuring high-quality content, particularly because it makes it difficult for users to assess veracity in real-time feeds, according to the authors.

The authors also highlighted the role of generative AI and large language models, which reduce the time and cost needed to produce convincing false content. “From a journalist’s perspective, large language models can be useful for analyzing large volumes of data, identifying reliable sources, and quickly verifying information,” Miglino said. He added that AI can help summarize complex studies by making them more accessible to the public.

“However, it is essential to maintain rigorous human oversight of all generated content, and journalists must critically interpret and contextualize the results. Strong scientific and ethical expertise must combine with the use of AI,” he said.

Clinical Impact

In clinical settings, the quality of information directly affects the physician-patient relationship, diagnostic reasoning, treatment adherence, and broader health behaviors, with consequent short- and long-term outcomes.

Against this backdrop, the authors called for strategies to improve the quality of health information. The proposed measures include strengthening health education and communication skills among healthcare professionals and developing tools that help individuals identify reliable sources.

These efforts should prioritize vulnerable populations, including children and adolescents, who face greater exposure to digital misinformation. Emerging technologies may improve the quality of information if they are guided by appropriate ethical standards, transparency, and regulatory frameworks.

“Coordinated action among institutions, media, and citizens is needed,” Miglino said, referring to the Italian context. He suggested that the Italian Ministry of Health and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy, establish a stable system to monitor and respond promptly to misinformation. He also emphasized the need to improve the clarity, accessibility, and visibility of public communication on social media.

“Health and digital education must be strengthened to develop critical thinking among citizens, and media organizations must invest in scientific journalism and more rigorous standards,” he concluded, noting that collaboration among journalists, clinicians, and researchers remains essential to ensure accuracy.

This story was translated from Univadis Italy.