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People Check the Internet Before Their Doctor for Health Information
An original investigation
published in the December 12, 2005 issue of the Archives of Internal
Medicine showed that more patients are looking for information on the
Internet before talking with their physicians. Lead investigator Dr
Bradford Hesse from the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland,
stated, "The context in which patients consume health information has
changed dramatically with diffusion of the Internet, advances in
telemedicine, and changes in media health coverage."
The
information for this report came from the Health Information National Trends
Survey in which 6369 persons 18 years or older were polled by telephone.
Of those polled, over 63% had used the Internet, of those 63.7 percent had
used the Internet to find health information. The report did note, however,
that patients still trust the information they get from their doctor more
than what they find on the Internet.
Some doctors see this flood
of information as a problem creating more questions. Dr Hesse, noting
that doctors are spending more time reviewing information that patients
bring them from the Internet suggested, "Ongoing attention may be needed to
adjust reimbursement policies for time spent with patients interpreting
printouts, for accommodating shifts toward informed and shared decision
making, for steering consumers to credible information sources, and for
attending to the needs of those who fall through the cracks of the digital
divide."
The most encompassing
statement of the study comes from the introduction where the authors said,
"The environment in which patients consume medical and health information
has changed dramatically during the past decade. Rapid diffusion of Internet
technology within the public sphere has placed an unprecedented amount of
health information within reach of general consumers." |