The Internet Used For Health Care Information

We all know that consumers are becoming more savvy on just about every topic under the sun. Consumers, in their continuing quest for knowledge, are turning to the Internet for information on Health Care information.

According to Harris Poll #76, in 2007, 160 million online users have turned to the web for Health Care related information. This new data reflects a dramatic increase over 2006 where a reported 136 million used the Internet for health related information. In this poll the term "cyberchondriacs" was coined to describe users that repeatedly turn to the Internet for health related information. Here are some other interesting statistics that the poll uncovered:

• "On average, a cyberchondriac searches the Internet almost six (5.7) times per month
• Fully eighty-six percent of cyberchondriacs say that the health information they found online was reliable (26% "very reliable" and 60% "somewhat reliable"). Of special note, the percentage of those who indicate that online medical information was "very reliable" has declined substantially from 37 percent in 2005 to the current 26 percent.
• Two thirds (66%) of adults online say that they have looked for information about health topics often (26%) or sometimes (40%), an increase of five percentage points from 2006 (61%)
• The number of U.S. adults who have ever gone online to look for health or medical information has increased to approximately 160 million up from about 136 million last year. The reasons for this increase are that the total number of Internet users has increased somewhat and the percent of people online who have looked for information has increased as well. Cyberchondriacs now represent 84 percent of all online adults, up from last year’s 80 percent, and 72 percent in 2005
• Cyberchondriacs are not only using the Internet to educate themselves, many are also using it to assist in their conversations with their physicians. A 58 percent majority of adults who have gone online to get health information say that they have discussed this information with their doctors at least once in the last year."
  

This last bullet indicates just how much impact the Internet has had on the patient-doctor relationship. For years patients have been encourage to ask more questions during a medical encounter, now more than ever, consumers are armed with readily available information allowing them to better evaluate their choices and make better decisions regarding their health care. There's no question that this trend will continue as the younger generations move into the stage of life that require increased medical services.