As of 2011, over 75% of the US population uses the internet. Eighty percent of these internet users are looking up health information online. Almost 20% of internet users have also gone online to look for others with similar medical problems.
Sixty percent of internet users for medical information think the information is either the same or better than the information received from their own doctor. Interesting enough, of those folks using the internet for health information, almost 60% of them did not discuss this information with their doctor.
What are patients looking at exactly? First and foremost they are looking at information related to their own condition around the web. This may include diagnostic options, treatment side effects, and for second opinions. Also, they may be looking up their doctor and his/her practice specifically for reputation.
Keep in mind that any person with a computer and a website or blog may place health information on the internet. It's not extremely difficult. What can be very difficult, however, is for the average consumer to delineate fact from fiction when reading through all of this material.
Additionally, there is no standard grading reference to ensure information online is of the highest integrity.
Regardless of this possibility, the fact that so much health information is available online allows consumers to become much more educated in their condition(s). They can participate more fully in treatment decisions and become actively engaged in their outcomes, After all, knowledge is power.
Health information from national medical societies can generally be trusted, such as the American Medical Association, American Cancer Society, etc. These are safe. However, if one is looking for medical information on groundbreaking technologies such as regenerative medicine, those sites are typically conservative.
Most medical journals are available online now, however to get full text one typically needs a subscription. Abstracts, which are concise summaries of research, are readily available online so if that's all that is necessary they are everywhere.
Most practices have a website these days and the better ones will have a blog or an educational component to them. Some have animated videos or narrated ones which can provide valuable information. Most procedures are widely discussed on the internet and one may see information from doctors along with patient experiences.
Patients more and more are seeking knowledge online, and the new reality is doctors can either contribute and embrace this phenomenon, or resist and have their pateints pass them by.
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