The physician-patient relationship is changing as patients increasingly are going online for health information and take more responsibility for their care, Dow Jones Business News reports.
A recent Manhattan Research study found that nearly two-thirds of physicians say the growing trend of patients coming to physician visits with online health information is positive, up from 63% of physicians in 2004. Of the 1,300 U.S. physicians surveyed, 52% said they recommend health Web sites to their patients.
However, specialists -- such as neurologists, surgeons and cardiologists -- tend to be less enthusiastic about patients bringing in online health information than primary care physicians and oncologists, Mark Bard, president of Manhattan Research, said.
Some physicians worry that consumers might try to self-diagnose an ailment, which could result in a false sense of security or unwarranted anxiety, Dow Jones Business News reports.
Vicki Rackner, a surgeon and president of Medical Bridges, said that physicians need to help patients identify what information is relevant.
Between January and March, 55.3 million U.S. Internet users visited health Web sites -- a 12% increase from the same period in 2006, according to comScore. The top four viewed Web sites were:
- WebMD Health;
- National Institutes of Health;
- MSN Health; and
- Yahoo Health.
In addition, patients are visiting physician rating Web sites, including HealthGrades.com, Best Doctors and Checkbook.org. They also are visiting physician groups' Web sites, which often answer common patient questions, connect patients to other credible resources and remind them about what kinds of questions to ask their physicians.
As more people go online for health information, the transformation of expectations between physicians and patients likely will be permanent, Diane Blum, editor in chief of the American Society of Clinical Oncology's Web site, said (Gerencher,
Dow Jones Business News, 5/24).