Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Survey: Consumers Show High Degree of Trust in Online Health Information, Report Success in Self-Diagnosis

Survey: Consumers Show High Degree of Trust in Online Health Information, Report Success in Self-Diagnosis, a press release from Wolters Kluwer Health on May 16, 2012.

From the press release"Even when it comes to their own health, consumers trust online information, with three in ten Americans reporting that they "always" or "frequently" turn to the Internet to find answers to medical questions and 65 percent of those seeking medical information online saying they trust the information, according to a new survey from Wolters Kluwer Health. Among consumers seeking medical information online, 63 percent claim to have never misdiagnosed themselves when using online medical information resources.

Easier access to online medical information may also have a positive impact on the doctor-patient relationship, with two-thirds, 67 percent, of Americans that seek medical information online stating that this has made them better informed as patients. Nearly half, or 48 percent, of consumers say they turn to the Internet to find answers to medical questions in order to be more informed about a medical condition before a doctor's visit. Interestingly, with so many consumers seeking medical information online, only 4 percent report having experienced "cyberchondria" - a term coined to describe how people become convinced that they have an illness or condition they don't actually have based on information they read on the Internet." Read more