Is too much Information on the Web dangerous to your health?
May 24, 2007 | General
It seems like when whenever one of my family members is sick the first thing we do is look on the web now to see what might be the cause of an illness.
We go to the web searching for answers looking for the latest treatment and hope for the best. But I often wonder when I have gone to various sites – are these sites really representing the medical industry correctly?
It seems like the latest craze is the new health platform. It not only gives you tools to track your blood pressure and finding the latest and greatest treatment, but it also allows you to create your own blog and join an ever growing online community. This may be good, but is it creating a new form of quackery medicine.
We all click on the disclaimers without even batting an eye, but are we sure what we are getting ourselves into. For example I was looking at a forum topic on a national platform, and I noticed a topic issued about being allergic to nickel. I found it quite interesting.
Don’t get me wrong I definitely see the good in having a base of resources, but as long as I am reminded that they are only resources and not a cure.
We have seen examples in the past of abuse of forums and blogs; we have all read or heard about them in the news.
Are we going to start to see fake doctors prey on an innocent victim? What kind of precautionary measures are in place to prevent this type of attack?
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Comment by Eileen Martinez June 4, 2007
I could not agree more, the web, like anything else can be abused. However, on balance the unprecedented access to health information far out weighs any potential for fraud.
If you keep to blogs and websites sponsored by legitimate healthcare providers you can make a huge difference in your own wellness.
I am a diabetic. Recently my physician prescribed the new medication, Byetta. I was able to log on to the manufactures website and particapate in a community of Byetta users. It helped me to discuss side effect etc with people who are using this medication.
Do not underestimate the value of information you can receive from non healthcare providers that are in the same boat you are.
Comment by wmrx June 11, 2007
I think it would be good to have some kind of creditialing process in place that would allow a user to see the details of a person who says they are apart of a practice of some sort. I’m not sure what this would, but maybe some kind of number that they have to submit when posting that is verified by a database.
Comment by Keith June 19, 2007
I agree as well. As educated consumers we simply need to do our due diligence and once we find a reputable site that has the information we desire, bookmark it and don’t forget to share it with others. Yes, there is a potential for information overload, but if you learn to weed out the fluff there is a lot of benefit.
User communities, as mentioned above, are common across all industries and there is no better source of information than first-hand accounts from those that have experienced it. There is no doubt that there will be a wide spectrum of opinions and once again, take in the information and apply it to your lifestyle and make educated decisions from it.
Comment by george van antwerp September 14, 2007
You make a good point. Consumers get and have access to tons of information. It is dificult to know who to trust and their bias.
Companies like Healthwise do offer some certification which can help. Companies need to be better about pushing quality information to the patient based on events (e.g., claims).