ONLINE HEALTH INFORMATION Patient and Physician Utilization of the Internet as a Medical Resource Jason Mitchell April 19, 2012
Feb 04, 2016
ONLINE HEALTH INFORMATIONPatient and Physician Utilization of the
Internet as a Medical ResourceJason MitchellApril 19, 2012
ONLINE HEALTH INFORMATIONPatient and Physician Utilization of the
Internet as a Medical ResourceJason Mitchell, PGY-3
April 19, 2012
PATIENT DEMOGRAPHICS
78% of American adults use the internet
59% of all adults look for OHI
80% of internet users search online for health information 94% of internet users check email 87% of those going online use a search engine
Pew American Internet and Life Project 2010
PATIENT DEMOGRAPHICS
• More likely to search for OHI
• Ages 18-49
• Female
• Caucasian
• Higher education
• Higher income
PATIENT DEMOGRAPHICS
40-50% of patients discuss OHI with their doctors
11% used the internet instead of doctors More convenient Less expensive Physician not open to discussion Mistrust Not enough time with physician
Diaz J. J Gen Intern Med 2002
PATIENT DEMOGRAPHICS
A) Sources where patients would prefer to obtain health information
B) Sources where patients actually went to for health information
Hesse B. Arch Intern Med. 2005
ED PATIENT DEMOGRAPHICS
37%
Pourmand A. West J Emerg Med. 2011
ED PATIENT DEMOGRAPHICS
15%
Pourmand A. West J Emerg Med. 2011
PATIENT SEARCH QUERIES
• Statistics Canada, 2005
• N = 30, 466
• 60% of internet users search for OHI
PHYSICIAN DEMOGRAPHICS
86-89% of physicians use the internet for OHI
PHYSICIAN DEMOGRAPHICS
86-89% of physicians use the internet for OHI
PHYSICIAN SEARCH QUERIES
Specific Drug Information
77%
General Condition Information
75%
Drug Safety Information 66%
Information For Patients 61%
Information to Aid Diagnosis
53%Parekh N. 2009
PHYSICIAN SEARCH QUERIES
Specific Drug Information
77%
General Condition Information
75%
Drug Safety Information 66%
Information For Patients 61%
Information to Aid Diagnosis
53%Parekh N. 2009
OHI AS A PHYSICIAN AID
2006 Study
NEJM Cases
3-5 search terms Entered into Google
Diagnostic Accuracy 58% (15 of 26 cases)
Tang H. BMJ. 2006
OHI AS A PHYSICIAN AID
2011 Study
EM Residents
N = 33, PGY 1-3
Pre-test and Google Post-Test
OHI AS A PHYSICIAN AID
Pre-Test GoogleTest
Krause R. West J Emerg Med. 2011.
SEARCH STRATEGIES
How do patients search for online health information?
Eysenbach G. BMJ. 2002.
SEARCH RESULTS
2009 Study
Titles of all MEDLINEplus Health Encyclopedia, NHS Direct Online, and NORD articles entered into Google
Index of top 10 websites offered
Wikipedia was significantly in the top 10 74.5% of all search terms Medscape 44.4% Mayo Clinic 31.6% eMedicine 22.7% Merck 9.3%
Laurent M. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2009.
ED CARDINAL PRESENTATIONS
FEVER WEAKNESS
VERTIGO CONFUSION
RED AND PAINFUL EYE COMA
SEIZURES HEADACHE
DYSPNEA CHEST PAIN
SYNCOPE NAUSEA/VOMITING
ABDOMINAL PAIN GASTROINTESTINAL BLEEDING
DIARRHEA CONSTIPATION
JAUNDICE PELVIC PAIN
VAGINAL BLEEDING BACK PAIN
CYANOSIS SORE THROAT
HEMOPTYSIS
ED CARDINAL PRESENTATIONS
FEVER WEAKNESS
VERTIGO CONFUSION
RED AND PAINFUL EYE COMA
SEIZURES HEADACHE
DYSPNEA CHEST PAIN
SYNCOPE NAUSEA/VOMITING
ABDOMINAL PAIN GASTROINTESTINAL BLEEDING
DIARRHEA CONSTIPATION
JAUNDICE PELVIC PAIN
VAGINAL BLEEDING BACK PAIN
CYANOSIS SORE THROAT
HEMOPTYSIS
QUALITY
ACCURATE
COMPLETE
UNDERSTANDABLE
Giles J. Nature. 2005.
WIKIPEDIA ON DRUGS
2008 Study Comparing Wiki entries to MDR
Wikipedia less able to provide answers (40.0% vs 82.5%, p<0.001)
Higher errors of omission (48 vs 14) Wikipedia did not provide dosing info (0% vs. 90%)
Wikipedia entries less complete (76% vs. 95.5%, p<0.001)
No factual errors, 4 in MDR
Clauson K. Ann Pharmacother. 2008.
WIKIPEDIA ON DRUGS
2011 Study Comparing Wikipedia to LexiComp
5 statins reviewed
4 of 5 articles deemed less complete than LexiComp
Missing or incomplete list Adverse Effects Contraindications Drug Interactions
Kupferberg N. J Med Libr Assoc. 2011.
WIKIPEDIA ON SURGERY
2007 Study
Identified 35 of 39 most common surgeries in Wikipedia
100% presented accurate content
37.1% contained critical omissions Significantly few articles discussed surgical risks
Devgan L. J Am Coll Surg. 2007.
WIKIPEDIA ON CANCER
2011 Study Comparing Wikipedia to PDQ
Malolan S. J Oncol Pract. 2011.
WIKIPEDIA ON MENTAL DISORDERS
2011 Study
Schizophrenia DepressionReavley N. Psychol Med. 2011.
WIKIPEDIA
Studies suggest Wikipedia Has comparable accuracy
Encyclopedias Other medical resources Expert opinion
Is incomplete
May be difficult to comprehend
OTHER SOURCES
2002 Systematic Review of MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed and other sources
7830 citations assessing OHI screened, 79 included
70% of included studies felt that quality is a problem
Average 35.3% of Web sites inaccurate Compared to literature, textbooks, or expert opinion 38.3% inaccurate compared to clinical practice guidelines Majority of sites written at a Grade 12 comprehension level
High heterogeneity
Eysenbach G. JAMA. 2002.
EMERGENCY MEDICINE OHI
2004 Study
Compared EM OHI to checklists created from ‘gold standards’
Evaluated MI Stroke Febrile child Influenza
Searched the 12 most frequented sites MayoClinic, MEDLINEplus, Medscape, WebMD, Yahoo!Health
Zun L. Am J Emerg Med. 2004.
EMERGENCY MEDICINE OHI
0% of websites contained complete medical information
MEDLINEplus most complete: 83%
MayoClinic.com and Medscape had greater than 50%
Majority of the websites fell between 35 and 50%
5 instances of inaccurate information Defined fever as both 37oC and 1oF above
98.6oF (37.6oC) Advised taking a cold bath if stroke symptoms
occurred
EMERGENCY MEDICINE OHI
Revised 2011
MSN Health and Yahoo!Health scored the highest Higher than MayoClinic, WebMD, NIH.gov
Majority of websites > 50%
No evaluated sites inaccurate
Median reading level Grade 9
Zun L. West J Emerg Med. 2011.
IS OHI HARMFUL?
Limited evidence to suggest harmful
Potential for: Patients believing a condition is treatable
when it is not
Patients following misleading advice
Patients making self-diagnoses that are incorrect
Initiating medical treatment that may be hazardous
IS OHI HARMFUL?
2002 Systematic Review
1512 Articles screened, 186 reviewed
3 identified cases 2 cases of emotional distress
1 case of physical harm
2% patients report knowing someone harmed by OHI
Crocco AG. JAMA. 2002.
JUDGMENT OF CREDIBILITY
Most patients believe online health information is trustworthy 72% believe all or most information
Confusion = Credibility?
2004 Study: Up to 60% unable to find answers Majority of respondents satisfied with the
answers they found
60% rated online information equal to or better than their doctors
Zeng Q. Int J Med Inform. 2004.
THE PHYSICIAN ENCOUNTER
50% bring up OHI in the context of the physician encounter
Most only want the physician’s opinion As opposed to requesting specific tests/treatments
Majority of patients felt OHI in the medical encounter had beneficial impact on their care
Trust remains high
THE PHYSICIAN ENCOUNTER
Patterns of trust for sources of health information 2002-2008
Hesse BW. NEJM. 2010.
THE PHYSICIAN ENCOUNTER
Negative impact on the patient-physician relationship
4% report negative interactions with the physician
Physician dismissive, poorly communicative, threatened
12% search for second opinion Murray E. Arch Intern Med. 2003.
CONCLUSION
The internet as a medical resource is commonplace
Quality of OHI mixed with room for misinterpretation
Patients seek collaboration with physicians
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Don’t dismiss the web-savvy patient
Emphasize interpretation of OHI within the context of the physician encounter
Identify and offer credible websites Peer-reviewed, written by experts, medically
sponsored WebMD, Medscape, MEDLINEplus,
HealthCanada
Contribute to the wealth of OHI
QUESTIONS?