Medical Case Management Amidst Viral Trends

In a world where Google searches and social media feeds often replace doctor visits, one question keeps coming up: has online health advice replaced human guidance? The short answer is no, but it has reshaped the job. In medical case management especially, the rise of digital health information hasn’t made case managers obsolete; it’s made them invaluable.

Today’s case managers are not only coordinating care plans but also helping patients navigate a flood of online advice, misinformation, and “wellness hacks.” Their role now extends beyond medical case management to interpreting digital noise, rebuilding trust, and guiding patients toward safe, evidence-based choices with empathy and clarity.

The New Role of the Internet in Healthcare

Today, Americans routinely turn to the internet for health information, often before or between visits with medical professionals. The National Cancer Institute’s Health Information National Trends Survey has tracked this shift for more than two decades, documenting how people seek answers and which sources they trust most.

The takeaway is that online information now shapes expectations long before healthcare providers or case managers are involved.

There are clear benefits, as many patients arrive informed, curious, and ready to engage. However, others come in with fixed beliefs or “shopping lists” of tests and supplements that may not align with medical guidelines.

The U.S. Surgeon General has labeled health misinformation an “urgent threat,” warning that false or misleading claims online can create confusion, erode trust, and even cause harm. This isn’t a social media hot take; it’s a formal advisory from the Department of Health and Human Services calling for a coordinated public response.

In medical case management, this dynamic plays out daily. When the initial contact happens online, case managers inherit patients already persuaded by something they’ve read or watched. As a result, digital health literacy as well as the ability to reset expectations have become an essential part of the job.

How Viral Advice Can Lead to Real Harm

Online health trends often start innocently as “life hacks” or “wellness tips.” But even well-intentioned advice can spiral into dangerous or costly outcomes once it circulates widely enough.

Some examples have been downright alarming:

• “Benadryl Challenge” – Teens were encouraged to take excessive amounts of diphenhydramine to induce hallucinations, leading to multiple hospitalizations and deaths. The FDA issued a formal warning after high-dose Benadryl misuse sent teens to emergency rooms.
• “NyQuil Chicken” trend – Users filmed themselves cooking chicken in cough syrup, releasing toxic vapors and creating dangerously concentrated doses of medication. The FDA issued a consumer alert emphasizing the risks of inhaling these vapors or ingesting contaminated food.

While these are extreme cases, they highlight a larger issue: viral content can normalize self-experimentation. What begins as a harmless trend can quickly translate into avoidable complications, unnecessary utilization, or requests for services that stem from misinformation rather than medical need.

Other trends are more subtle, often disguised as “self-care” or “wellness”:

• Detox and cleanse diets – Promoted as ways to “flush out toxins” or “reset” the body, these regimens have no proven health benefits and can actually cause nutrient deficiencies, dehydration, or kidney stress, according to Harvard Health Publishing. In medical case management, such practices may appear as delayed recovery or abnormal lab results, preventable complications that case managers and clinicians must then address.
• Mouth taping for sleep – A viral wellness hack that claims to improve sleep quality by forcing nasal breathing overnight. Clinicians warn there’s no scientific evidence supporting its benefits and that it may be dangerous for individuals with sleep apnea or airway obstruction. Case managers may encounter patients substituting this unverified practice for prescribed CPAP therapy, complicating compliance and recovery documentation.

Health misinformation not only endangers individuals, but it also disrupts the entire medical management process. Patients who adopt unsafe or unproven methods often face setbacks that prolong recovery, increase utilization, and raise overall healthcare costs.

Impact on Medical Case Management

For case managers, the rise of online health advice has reshaped nearly every part of the job. Patients now arrive with self-diagnoses, treatment preferences, and preconceived timelines, often influenced by what they’ve read or watched online. The result is a new layer of complexity that case managers must navigate before they can even begin coordinating care.

1. Case managers spend more time deconstructing false information.
   Before coordinating treatment, case managers often need to unpack what a patient believes about their condition. Instead of simply explaining the plan of care, they may first need to address why a viral supplement, “detox,” or wellness hack isn’t medically sound.
2. Communication dynamics have shifted.
   Online misinformation can undermine trust in professionals, especially when patients view their online sources as more relatable or accessible. Case managers now have to rebuild that trust, often within one or two conversations, by balancing authority with empathy.
3. Care plans are harder to sustain.
   When patients follow inconsistent or unsafe online advice, adherence to prescribed therapies drops. The CDC links low health literacy to poor medication adherence and higher readmission rates, meaning misinformation can directly prolong recovery and increase healthcare costs.
4. Documentation now includes digital context.
   More case managers are noting when online content contributes to a patient’s misunderstanding, self-treatment, or delay in care. These notes can influence utilization review outcomes, inform independent medical exams, and flag recurring patterns that drive cost escalation.
5. The workload keeps expanding.
   Digital misinformation leads to more work for case managers. Every myth debunked, every education call, every clarification about coverage represents additional time and effort not always reflected in productivity metrics.

The internet hasn’t replaced case managers. It has redefined their work, demanding stronger communication skills, deeper emotional intelligence, and digital fluency alongside clinical expertise.

Best Practices for Medical Case Management

As online health information continues to shape patient behavior, case managers are adapting and developing new strategies that blend empathy, evidence, and digital awareness. Some best practices that can make those conversations more effective include:

1. Lead with curiosity, not correction.
   When patients mention something they’ve read online, start with open-ended questions: “Where did you see that?” or “What made it sound convincing?” This approach builds rapport, reveals what they trust, and opens the door to gentle redirection rather than confrontation.
2. Validate before you educate.
   Acknowledge a patient’s effort to learn before offering clarification. Try: “That’s a great question. Here’s what the latest CDC guidance says.” This respects the patient’s autonomy while steering the discussion toward credible, evidence-based information.
3. Use trusted government and academic sources.
   Keep a list of verified resources handy, such as HHS’s Health Misinformation Toolkit, the FDA’s Medication Safety page, and the CDC’s Health Literacy guides. These can be shared during calls or included in follow-up notes to reinforce transparency and trust.
4. Keep learning.
   Stay aware of trending “health hacks” or viral wellness topics. Understanding what patients are seeing online helps case managers anticipate their questions and protect them from misinformation before it influences their care.

The internet may have changed healthcare, but with the right partner, your medical case management strategy can stay one step ahead. Let’s make it happen.

Check out our sources:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health Literacy: Accurate, Accessible, and Actionable Health Information. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2023, https://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/.

Food and Drug Administration. FDA Warns about Serious Problems with High Doses of the Allergy Medicine Diphenhydramine (Benadryl). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2020, https://www.fda.gov/.

Food and Drug Administration. Consumer Update: Social Media Challenge Warning about Cooking Chicken in NyQuil. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2022, https://www.fda.gov/.

Harvard Health Publishing. The Truth about Detox Diets. Harvard Medical School, 2023, https://www.health.harvard.edu/.

National Cancer Institute. Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2023, https://hints.cancer.gov/.

Office of the Surgeon General. Confronting Health Misinformation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Building a Healthy Information Environment. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2021, https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/.