A study published in Healthcare IT News confirms what most doctors are already finding in their practices. A significant number of patients are going online to search for healthcare related content and question or doubt the opinion of their physician if the advice given is in conflict with information that the patient has found online.
NEW YORK - A new survey reveals that 85.6 million U.S. adults have doubted the opinion of their doctors or other medical professionals when it conflicts with information found online. That number represents about 38 percent of the population. However, the survey also shows that a majority of Americans still view health providers as their most trusted source of medical information. Hispanics were significantly less likely to trust healthcare providers first, choosing to speak to family, friends and significant others more than other races.
Additional key findings include: Young people are most likely to be skeptical of medical advice. More than four in 10, or 43 percent of Americans ages 18 to 34, said they doubted their health provider's advice when it conflicted with online sources. Hispanics are the least likely to rely on authority figures. Thirty-four percent of Hispanics said they would consult their primary healthcare provider first if they were diagnosed with a medical condition, as opposed to 62 percent of whites and 61 percent of African-Americans. Once-trusted institutions receive low marks. Overall, very few Americans listed institutions such as the government, the media or non-profits as highly credible healthcare information sources.
Besides the young, most do not view patient-generated content as credible. Despite its increasing popularity, only 3 percent of Americans seeking advice about how to manage a serious medical condition would view patient developed online health information as trustworthy. The same amount (3 percent) feel this way about mild medical problems. However, 9 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds are happy to rely on this type of content for guidance on mild health conditions. While trust in Internet resources lags, provider-generated online content may be different. Previous research indicates that trust in Internet resources is not widespread. However, this study suggests credibility may be influenced by who is authoring the content. Thirteen percent of Americans say they would consult medical professional-developed information posted on blogs, online forums or other Web sites first if they believe they have a health condition or disease.
(The healthcare marketing and consulting firm Envision Solutions commissioned the research. It is the first in a series of studies the company plans in examining how Americans use interactive technologies, including the Internet, for health. Kelton Research conducted the study from July 17-21, using a nationally representative online survey of 1,000 U.S. adults, 18 or older.)
What are your thoughts? Are patients less trusting of physician advice, referring to content that they have already identified online and printed? Is patient concern relevant in terms of the resources they access. e.g. If care is provided in Vancouver, the standard of practice may differ from the Mayo Clinic web site.
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Link: Online info has patients doubting doctors, survey finds.
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