Use Of Web Sites To Obtain Health Care Information Increasing

Main Category: IT / Internet / E-mail
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 22 Mar 2007 - 14:00 PST

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The Philadelphia Inquirer on Monday examined how new Web sites "seem to pop up almost daily touting new capabilities to help patients navigate a bewildering array of treatment options in an increasingly complex health system." According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, about 113 million U.S. residents searched for health care information online in 2006, and eight million individuals search online daily for information about diets, diseases and physicians. Most experts "see the movement as ... an evolution," and "it's still unclear whether the latest changes herald a new era of health consumerism," the Inquirer reports. Don Liss, mid-Atlantic regional medical director for Aetna, said, "In one sense, people are looking for a Zagat guide for health care. There is no single letter grade or number grade that can be applied to a doctor or a hospital. Health care is much more nuanced than that." Judith Hibbard, a professor of public health at the University of Oregon, said, "Plenty of quality information is being produced and disseminated, but it has been an uphill battle making it really understandable and salient for consumers" (Goldstein, Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/19).

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