Internet Often Source Of Health Information For Patients
Many use the Internet to search for health information, especially those who have chronic health conditions, revealed survey results published in the first June issue of the journal Health Services Research.
A survey about consumers' use of the Internet to find health information was sent to 12,878 randomly selected members of a panel who had at least a minimum level of Internet access. Complete responses were returned by 69.4 percent of the participants.
Overall, 32.7 percent of respondents had used the Internet at least once during the past year to look for health information; 12.7 percent did this every two to three months or more frequently (defined as frequent users).
However, using the Internet or e-mail for communication about health issues was less common: only 5.3 percent of respondents used these methods to communicate with health care providers. Communicating about health conditions or worries was more common among family or friends (22.4 percent) and among people who had similar health conditions or worries (10.3 percent).
People with chronic conditions had greater odds of using the Internet to find health information than did respondents without chronic conditions. People with chronic conditions also showed higher odds of frequently searching the Internet for health information.
The study authors noted that the uninsured who had a chronic condition were more likely than were the privately insured who did not have a chronic condition to seek health information on the Internet.
"Individuals facing a higher price to obtain information from health care professionals are more likely to turn to the Internet for health information," they explained.
These data are similar to other results published last year, when a survey sponsored by the Medical Broadcasting Company and fielded by Nielsen/NetRatings found that consumers trust health care information on the Internet more than that delivered by other media (42 percent vs. 16 percent, respectively). An even greater proportion of respondents of this survey said they research important health topics on the Internet before and after visiting their physician (more than 65 percent).
Even so, interviews conducted by Accenture Ltd. showed that among 1,000 patients aged 30 years or older who were taking at least one drug regularly, the most trusted source of pharmaceutical drug information was their physician, followed by their pharmacist and medical Web sites (61 percent, 16 percent and 13 percent, respectively).
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