Honestly, it's a crapshoot. Most of the time, laymen are just engaging in wishful thinking, confirmation bias, and personal attachment to their opinions.

But I've seen more than a fair share of doctors who are unreasonably attached to their own ego and out-of-date knowledge it's built on, and of patients who are more invested in genuine research into their condition than even Dr House would be.

The timeframe between science finding new insights(or proving prior ones wrong) and the knowledge becoming mainstream among the medical community is measured in decades.

A motivated individual can - sometimes - do much, much better, medical degree or its lack irregardless.