Patients put trust in Internet health information

Although surfers often don't check the source or timeliness of Web sites, they are not hurting themselves and not bothering their physicians, a study finds.

By Tyler Chin, AMNews staff. June 17, 2002.

Half of those who go online for health information aren't checking the source or timeliness of the data they find on health sites, but that doesn't mean physician offices are being overrun by ill-informed patients or that patients are harming themselves, says a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Meanwhile, about 25% checked "most of the time" and another 25% did so every time they went to a Web site, according to the study.

Overall, consumers "are finding what they want, that they aren't harmed by what they find and, in fact, the material they find online helps them make important medical decisions for themselves or the people they are caring for," said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which researches the impact of the Internet on society, including health care. Based on a telephone survey of 500 Internet users that was conducted June 19 through Aug. 6, 2001, the study has a margin of error of 4.5%.

A major reason why consumers believe that they are finding good rather than bad information is that they don't necessarily take the information they find online at face value, Rainie said.

"A lot of times they are going to multiple Web sites to check for information," Rainie said. "A lot of people say, 'Look, I know there's a lot of junk and bad stuff online, but I've found sites that I rely on, that I trust and that I don't have to check [the validity of their information] every time I go to them. I trust the brand or I trust my past experience [with them].' " [...]