Searching for Health Guidance

Patients usually search for trusted health information but on their own terms. Examples of the available sources of health guidance or information in the world of today include:

·         Doctors/physicians

·         Online health resources

·         Pharma advertisements

After introduction of online health resources, there have emerged many group websites offering reliable health information. But do you think these sites can be trusted? Learn more!

Ask a Patient about Research Treatment

According to mHealthSpot, patients usually research treatment information from online sources and from their doctors. After a survey conducted in 2015, about 24% of the respondents said that they use online health resources as their trusted source of information. After another survey in 2016, 29% of those surveyed said that online research was their best and trusted source of health information.

Doctors are the Most Trusted Source

Although online research is increasingly on use, doctors are the most trusted source of health guidance. Doctors are trusted by about 95 percent of consumers but:

·         About 62 percent of patients responded that they would research for a prescribed treatment from an online source after visiting the doctor first.

·         53 percent said that they would research online for an alternative treatment apart from the one prescribed by their doctors

·         61 percent of those surveyed said that they are likely to ask for specific prescription medication by its name.

Consumers are motivated by online health resources due to ease of use

Consumers or patients are usually motivated by online health resources not because they are reliable trusted sources but because they are easy and cheap to use. Advocacy group websites are among the trusted sources of health guidance but very little utilize them.

After a survey conducted in 2016, it was found that 59 percent of consumers trust advocacy group websites but only 16 percent of consumers visit the sites for help.

Examples of advocacy group websites include:

·         WebMD- WebMD is visited by about 53% of consumers and is ranked the top among online health resources. According to statistics, out of those who visit the site about 39 percent said that they visited it because they trusted it as a source of health guidance. 56 percent consumers however said that they visited this advocacy group website because of its ease of use.

·         Government Agencies- Examples of highly ranked government agencies include CDC, Federal Drug Association (FDA) and National Institute of Health (NIH). Recent research shows that government agencies are the highly trusted sources of health information but only 34 percent consumers’ visit them for health guidance. Out of those who visited government agencies, 29 percent of them did it because the sites are easy to use and cheap to access. On the other hand, 52 percent visited government agencies because they are trusted sources of health information.

Questions to ask yourself before trusting a health website

When you search for health information online, you are likely to find many health organizations and agencies that are not well known. You don’t have to believe all health information you find on a website. The web can provide you with information on a specific health condition or a disease and tips on how to stay a healthy lifestyle. However, the information you get from majority of websites can be half-truth or present myths as if they are facts.

By answering the following questions, you will have the ability to find information about the owner of the website and know whether the website is a trusted source of health guidance. A lot of details about ownership of an online health resource are found under the heading “About us” or similar.

Here are the questions:

·         Who hosts or sponsors the website?

Can you get that information with ease? Sometimes the web address is helpful to know the sponsor or the owner. For example:

o   .gov is an identity of U.S government agency

o   .uk  identifies U.K government agency or website

o   .com is an identity of commercial websites such as hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and businesses

o   .edu is an identity of an educational institution such as school, university or college

o   .org identifies nonprofit organizations such as research institutes, advocacy groups, and professional groups

·         Do they give information on how you can reach the sponsor?

Trustworthy websites usually give contact information for you to reach the site author or sponsor. Contact information may include email address, toll phone number, or mailing address. Such information is mostly given at the bottom of every page.

·         Where did this health information come from?

Any website that provides health related information should first tell you the source of the information. You should see if you can get answers to the following questions:

o   Who wrote this information?

o   If the information was written by a health professional, was it reviewed by a medical expert or a doctor?

o   Does any piece of information appear to be someone’s opinion instead of a scientific fact?

·         How current is the health information?

Health information keeps on changing as days pass since researchers continue to discover new things. You should therefore know if the health information you find on a site is up to date. Many websites will provide you with publishing date at the top or bottom of the page e.g. “updated” or “Last reviewed”.

·         Is your privacy protected?

·         Does the site offer easy and quick solutions to your health problems?

Pharma Advertising

Millennials are the most responsive generation when it comes to pharma advertising. According to recent research, 51 percent of consumers said that they respond to ads across different channels, with Television being the leading and most influential channel.

Quick to Click

Some pharma advertising sites are quick to click. One of the examples is Wikipedia which appears as site number one always after searching for health information. According to statistics, about 42 percent of millennials clicked on Wikipedia because it was the first link to appear after their health information search. For the older generations, only 16 percent clicked on Wikipedia.

Millennials Usually Trust Celebrities

Recent research has shown that millennials trust celebrity advertised products compared to those advertised by others. More than 25 percent of millennials have been found to trust celebrity endorsed products compared to only 10 percent among other generations or age segments.

The Bottom Line

Health information you get from pharma advertising or website does not act as a replacement of your doctor’s advice. You should therefore know that your doctor is the best person to answer questions and give solutions to your personal health. If you get any online information that differs from your doctor’s advice, don’t hesitate to ask him or her.