A new survey of more than 2,700 general practitioners in Australia found that 44% identified community health misinformation as a challenge in their work in 2026, up from 35% in 2025. The findings come from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners' (RACGP) upcoming 2026 Health of the Nation report, and point to the growing role of artificial intelligence in shaping how patients seek medical information before consulting a doctor.
What the survey found
RACGP President Dr. Michael Wright said the nine-point jump in a single year reflects how quickly patients are turning to search engines, social media and AI-powered chat tools for health guidance. He said AI-generated content is becoming "more personalised and more convincing," which makes it harder for both patients and clinicians to distinguish credible advice from inaccurate claims. According to Dr. Wright, relying on flawed online information can delay diagnosis, discourage preventive care, erode trust in evidence-based medicine, and in some cases create serious health risks.
Where AI fits into care, and its limits
The RACGP noted that government guidance in Australia acknowledges AI's potential to improve diagnosis and treatment, while cautioning that algorithmic outputs can be difficult to interpret and may not perform consistently across different patient groups. Dr. Wright emphasized that new technologies should be introduced with attention to safety, transparency and public trust, rather than being treated as a substitute for personalized clinical judgment that accounts for a patient's history, medications and individual risk factors.
What the college is asking for
In response, the RACGP is pressing Australia's federal government to strengthen the evidence base underpinning primary care and to fund the clinical resources GPs depend on for accurate advice. The college is also proposing a national general practice-based research network designed to generate real-world evidence to guide patient care across Australian communities. Dr. Wright framed continued investment in research, clinical guidelines and general practice services as essential to ensuring Australians retain access to reliable, evidence-based health information.
Practical advice for patients
Dr. Wright encouraged people who encounter health claims online to raise them directly with their GP rather than act on unverified advice. He described general practice as a frontline setting where misinformation is often caught and corrected before causing harm, adding that a conversation with a trusted physician who knows a patient's medical history remains more reliable than guidance generated by an algorithm with no such context.