News :Medical Web Sites: Help or Hindrance?

Posted on Friday, March 28, 2008

“I looked up my symptoms on the Internet and I’m sure I have _______.” How many times have you heard this from a patient and cringed? Increased patient reliance on medical Web sites for self-diagnosis and treatment is creating a growing problem for healthcare professionals. Not all information available on the Web is accurate or applicable to an individual patient’s particular history or needs. Patients can endanger their health by relying solely on Internet-obtained information without checking with their healthcare professional. Yet the instant availability of medical advice on the Web and people’s desire to find fast cures for their problems often leads patients to believe the advice they read on the Internet. As a medical community, we increasingly find ourselves in the position of competing with medical Web sites and finding it necessary to convince our patients to come in for an accurate diagnosis.

“My advice to consumers about information on the Internet is the same as it is for other media: You can’t believe everything you see, whether it’s in a newspaper, on TV, or on a computer screen,” says Bill Rados, Director of Communications at the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Anyone with a computer can connect to the Internet, publish a Web page and post information offering advice. Consumers must protect themselves, warn concerned government agencies.

The Internet has given individuals the ability to ask and answer many medical questions before they visit the doctor’s office. Numerous sites offer excellent generalized information about medical problems and diseases. Some provide symptom checkers to help diagnose medical conditions. Some provide helpful medical tools, such as video demonstrations of exercises, demonstrations of breast or testicular self-exams, photographs illustrating cancerous moles or meningitis rash, etc. Many of these sites are operated by trustworthy government agencies, universities, medical schools, or non-profit organizations devoted to research and education. Such sites provide consumers with accurate general medical information and serve as a valuable tool in discussing symptoms or problems with healthcare professionals, but they do not claim to take the place of a visit to the doctor. In fact, responsible medical Web sites contain a disclaimer to that effect and urge visitors to discuss issues with their personal Physician.

It is important to impress upon patients the value in using Internet medical sites correctly while advising them of the potential danger. Internet sites can be valuable as an information source and starting point for a discussion with your Physician. They can help you clarify your symptoms and may alert you to treatment possibilities or alternative medicine solutions you may wish to discuss with your doctor. However, they do not factor in your unique individual history and requirements.

Treatments recommended on the Internet do not take into consideration the specifics of an individual’s personal health or potential drug interactions. A checklist of symptoms is no substitute for a thorough physical exam by a knowledgeable healthcare professional, nor will it provide the accurate data available from various medical tests. Patients must be warned that they put themselves at possible risk if they choose to follow advice found on the Internet without first talking to their doctor. Online medical Web sites are a resource, not a replacement for professional medical advice.

Use these criteria in evaluating the trustworthiness of medical/health information Web sites:

• The site should clearly state who owns and operates it and its purpose. This information can usually be found on the “About Us” page. The ending of a site address can indicate whether the site is reliable..gov: sponsored by the federal government
  .edu: operated by universities or medical schools
  .org: maintained by non-profit groups that focus on research and public education about a specific disease or condition
• Other reliable sites include medical and scientific journals like The New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association, though information presented may be highly technical and not easily understood outside the medical community.
• The source of the information available on the site should be clearly identified. Some sites are written by medical professionals, while others simply post unverified information collected from other sites. Also, check the site’s linking policy (usually under “About This Web Site”). Some sites do not verify the integrity of linked sites and others use paid links which are actually disguised advertisements.
• A respected medical site will document not only the original source of information, but any facts or figures referenced. Opinions or advice will be clearly differentiated from evidence-based information. Beware of sites that use a sensational writing style or promote claims that sound too good to be true. You should be skeptical of sites that use words like “dramatic,” “miraculous results,” “breakthrough,” and “secret ingredient.” Such claims are often fraudulent.�
• Information should be provided on the medical credentials of the people who prepare and update the information posted on the Web site. Information should also be reviewed and updated regularly to ensure accuracy and timeliness. Look for a date on the bottom of the page. Broken links often indicate a site that is rarely updated.
• Find out what kind of information the site collects about visitors and why. Most Web sites track page use to determine what information most interests site visitors. A site that requires a visitor to subscribe or become a member and pay a fee may be mining personal information that will be sold to other companies. Read the site’s Privacy Statement, which should explain why and what it will do with any information collected. Don’t provide information without fully understanding how it will be used.
• A responsible Web site should allow for interaction between site visitors and the site owners as a way to provide feedback or ask questions. This opportunity is usually found on the “Contact Us” page.
• Realize that no matter how responsible the site, information exchanged in chat rooms is not verified by the site provider and cannot, therefore, be considered accurate.