Data & Research August 8, 2007

Ill Wills?

Feeling a bit under the weather?
Reported by

Did you check out your symptoms on the Internet? Well, if you did, you could be one of an estimated 160 million “cyberchondriacs’, defined as someone who searches online often (26%) – or sometimes (40%) – or ever – in a new Harris Poll.

On average, a cyberchondriac searches the Internet almost six (5.7) times per month.

Harris claims that over the last two years, the number of people who have used the Internet to search for health-related information has increased markedly, from 53% in 2005 to 71% at present. Most adults who have ever looked for health information online claim that they have been at least somewhat successful in finding what they were looking for. The vast majority believes the information they found to be at least somewhat reliable, and most have talked to their physicians about the information they found there, according to nationwide poll of 1,010 U.S. adults surveyed by telephone by Harris Interactive between July 10 and 16, 2007.

The percentage of online adults who say they hardly ever or never search for health information has dropped to 34%, compared with 39% a year ago, and 43% in 2005.

“Less” So?

Interestingly, while three-quarters (74%) of those who have ever searched the Internet for health information have done so once or more often in the last month, this is down from 2005 when 85 percent said that they had gone online one or more times in the past month looking for health information. And while 88% of so-called cyberchondriacs say they were successful in searching for health information online, the percentage that said they were “very successful” has declined from 46% two years ago to just 37% now. Similarly, while 86% of cyberchondriacs say that the health information they found online was reliable (26% “very reliable” and 60% “somewhat reliable”), but those who say the information was “very reliable” has declined substantially from 37% in 2005 to just 26% at present.

More than half (55%) of cyberchondriacs have searched for health information based on discussions with their doctors, up from 45% a year ago.

According to the survey’s authors, the huge and growing numbers of “cyberchondriacs” who use the internet to look for health information and to help them have better conversations with their doctors has surely had a big impact on the knowledge of patients, the questions they ask their doctors and is therefore changing the doctor-patient relationship and the practice of medicine. There is every reason to believe the impact of the Internet on medical practice will continue to grow.

If the numbers seem somewhat exaggerated, it may nonetheless bode well for circumstances where a participant consults with their retirement plan “doctor.’

CYBERCHONDRIACS: TRENDS 1998-2007

Base: All U.S. adults

1998

1999

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

All adults who are online*

38

46

63

66

67

69

74

77

79

All online adults who have ever looked online for health information

71

74

75

80

78

74

72

80

84

All adults who have ever looked online for health information

27

34

47

53

52

51

53

61

71

All adults who have looked online for health information in last month

NA

NA

27

32

NA

31

45

51

53

All adults who have ever looked online for health information + (millions)

54

69

97

110

109

111

117

136

160

*Includes those online from home, office, school, library or other location

FREQUENCY OF ACCESSING HEALTH INFORMATION ONLINE: 1998 – 2007

“How often do you look for information online about health topics – often, sometimes, hardly ever or never?”

Base: All U.S. adults who are online*

1998

1999

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

Often

12

13

16

18

17

19

25

21

26

Sometimes

30

30

30

35

37

31

33

40

40

Hardly ever

29

31

30

27

23

24

14

19

18

Never

29

26

25

20

22

26

29

20

16

Total who have looked for

health or medical informationsometimes or often (NET)

42

43

46

53

54

50

58

61

66

Total who have ever looked

for health or medicalinformation (NET)

71

74

75

80

78

74

72

80

84

Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding

*Includes those online from home, office, school, library or other location

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