When it Comes to Online Medical Research: Searchers Beware

July 19, 2012

When it Comes to Online Medical Research: Searchers Beware

Many Americans, in moments of medical curiosity, have queried their symptoms online and made an amateur diagnosis based on what they discovered. Unfortunately, searching for medical information online often produces misinformation or incorrect information that can harm would-be patients.

The Internet: A Trove of Medical (Mis)Information

The expansion of the Web since the 1990s has led to a trove of medical advice, all available at the fingertips of anyone with an Internet connection. A 2011 Pew study determined that 80 percent of Internet users search online for health information. The most common searches were for food and drug recalls, pregnancy and symptoms relating to a specific condition and appropriate treatment.

While online availability of scholarly journals and surgical videos is helpful for medical professionals who can interpret them appropriately, these resources and the plethora of medical symptom and advice websites can confound a casual user who lacks a medical degree. This kind of research may even lead to harm if this user acts on the advice without consulting a health care professional first.

One major issue with researching symptoms and other medical conditions online is that incorrect information is shuffled in with accurate information and a typical user cannot separate the two. Misinformation can spread like a virus through the Internet, being repeated on blogs and other sites that are not reviewed or published by health care professionals.

Search Result Study Reveals Extent of the Problem

In 2010, researchers at the Department of Pediatrics at Nottingham University published a study that analyzed the first 100 search results of five common pediatric questions:
-Is there a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism?
-Should an HIV-Positive mother breastfeed?
-Should a mother with mastitis breastfeed?
-Should a baby sleep on her front or back?
-What should parents do about their child producing green vomit?

The researchers found that the search results produced correct answers 39 percent of the time and incorrect answers 11 percent of the time. However, almost half of the search results did not answer the question at all. Government websites produced the best information, while over half of news sites offered faulty advice.

Due to the wide variability in the quality of the medical advice available on the Internet, individuals should avoid self-diagnosing online and instead visit a doctor who is trained to identify and appropriately treat medical conditions. If you or a loved one has been injured due to faulty medical advice, please contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney to explore your legal options.

Article provided by Furr & Henshaw
Visit us at www.scmedicalmalpractice.com