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Patients turn to Internet first for health info

Physician Practice Advisor, December 14, 2005

U.S. patients are likely to seek health information from the Internet first, even though they trust their physicians more to provide them with accurate medical information, according to a survey published in the Archives of Internal Medicine this month.

Sixty-three percent of the 6,369 adults surveyed had used the Internet, according to the report. Of those, 63.7% had searched the Internet for health information, while less than 10% had used the Internet to purchase medication, communicate with physicians, or participate in online support groups.

Only 10.9% of those surveyed who sought cancer information consulted their physician first, while 48.6% went online first. However, 49.5% said they wanted to go to their physician first for information about cancer. In addition, the report found that 62.4% of respondents said they trusted physicians "a lot" for information on cancer, compared with 23.9% who trusted the Internet.

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