Start Date

16-8-2018 12:00 AM

Description

The search for online health information has received some attention for many years now. Patients like to search for health information online because they are able to get information that helps them to potentially determine what may be causing them discomfort and some trips on how to treat it. Physicians are often critical of this information because they feel that patients often use it as a substitute for seeking professional help, thus potentially exacerbating an existing problem by misdiagnosing and not getting proper attention for an ailment. There have been few studies which have measured the impact of these online tools on medical outcomes. This study provides some evidence to suggest that online health searches have a positive impact on patient care by comparing search trends from Google to medical outcomes by geographic region.

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Aug 16th, 12:00 AM

The Impact of Online Health Searches on Medical Outcomes: Some Evidence from Google Trends

The search for online health information has received some attention for many years now. Patients like to search for health information online because they are able to get information that helps them to potentially determine what may be causing them discomfort and some trips on how to treat it. Physicians are often critical of this information because they feel that patients often use it as a substitute for seeking professional help, thus potentially exacerbating an existing problem by misdiagnosing and not getting proper attention for an ailment. There have been few studies which have measured the impact of these online tools on medical outcomes. This study provides some evidence to suggest that online health searches have a positive impact on patient care by comparing search trends from Google to medical outcomes by geographic region.