Ever More Adults Search for Health Information Online

August 12, 2010

Eighty-eight percent of online adults in the US have turned to the web to look for health information online according to results of a new Harris Poll. This represents nearly 175 million adults who have looked up health information online at least once. Of these, 62% of online adults have looked for health information at least once in the past month, with 26% searching for health information 3-5 times a month,  6% searching 6-9 times a month, and a whopping 17% searching 10 or more times in the past month.

The Harris also study found that:

  • Only 8% believe that the information they found was unreliable.
  • 53% of adults who have looked up health information online discussed the information with their doctors.
  • 50% of adults who have looked up health information online say they have searched for information on the Internet based on discussions with their doctors.

With this many adults searching for medical information online, it is imperative that you ensure the sources you turn to provide the most accurate information. Underscoring this need to see accurate information is some alarming research conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation in the fall of 2007 that found that 54% of users who sought health information online followed the advice even when they didn’t believe it!

There are very reputable medical Web sites that provide a wealth of information about a broad spectrum of medical conditions. And there are plenty of quack sites that dispense entirely spurious medical “advice.” So how can you tell the difference?

  • Ask your doctor if he or she recommends the Web site.
  • Look for the Health on the Net (HON) seal of approval which is only given to sites that have been accredited against a strict set of principles.
  • If you don’t see the HON seal on the site, you can search for it.

Here is a listing of the top 10 most popular health information sites as of May 2010:

Your health and the health of those you love is not something to take chances on. Though qualified medical Web sites provide a wealth of information that can help you understand symptoms and illnesses, no Web site will provide you with better  or more reliable information than a well trained medical specialist who knows you, your family members, or your pet. Before treating yourself based on information you find online, always consult with your own medical advisor.

Linda

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Posted by Linda Criddle

$100 Billion-A-Year Medical Care Fraud

January 17, 2010

Healthcare fraud is big business. Last year scammers and organized crime groups bilked an estimated $100 billion last year according to a new article Health care: A ‘goldmine’ for fraudsters from CNNMoney.com.

Medical Identity theft is the most lucrative aspect of the medical fraud business, and the most common method of gaining access to personal medical records is when someone with legitimate access to the data sells the information to criminals. But that’s changing.

According to the CNN article “Increasingly, criminal groups are hacking into digital medical records so that they can steal money from the $450 billion, 44-million-beneficiary Medicare system — making the government, by far, the “single biggest victim” of health care fraud, according to Rob Montemorra, chief of the FBI’s Health Care Fraud Unit.”

To learn more about the risks you face when your medical records go online, see my blogs:

While the government is the “single biggest victim”, every individual whose records are stolen will feel the pain.

The most common way scammers and criminals make their money is by sending in false bills to insurance companies and Medicare for medicines, equipment, in-home health care, or treatments that were not prescribed or requested.  Criminals also ‘resell’ an individual’s medical records to an uninsured person in need of medical care.

While the aim of the criminals behind medical ID theft and fraud is to steal money, the tampering with your medical information can place you at serious risk if doctors base medical decisions about your care on the falsified information in your file.

The government isn’t the only one footing the bill. In addition to the indirect costs to the government and insurance companies that every consumer pays for medical fraud, the average cost to an individual victim of medical ID theft was close to $1,200 according to Javelin Strategy & Research, a research firm specializing in trends in security and fraud initiatives. Javelin’s research also found that in 2008 the average incident of health care identity fraud netted the criminal $19,000, which is four times the earnings of overall ID theft.

In addition to the risk to your medical records, these thieves also gain access to the information that accompanies your records – including your name, address, phone number, social security number, insurance company, and more – placing you at high risk for traditional ID theft as well.

Stay vigilant

Always check your insurance benefits statements to see if there are charges or claims that are not yours. Notify your insurance company if your financial ID has been stolen, and notify your financial institutions if your medical ID has been stolen.

Linda

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Posted by Linda Criddle

Looking Online for Health Info? – Which Sites Do You Trust?

August 18, 2009

onlinehealth1With the swine flu threat increasing as kids go back to school, and the whole winter-illness season approaching, health concerns are gaining more attention.

At the same time, economic woes are hitting families hard. According to a poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 1-in-3 American families to struggle paying medical bills and nearly half say a family member has postponed necessary medical care to save the expense of a doctor visit.

As a result, more consumers are seeking medical advice online – research conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project and the California HealthCare Foundation found that 61% of adults now look online for health information.

Knowing how to identify trustworthy sites and information is critical to ensure your safety – particularly if you are looking for medical guidance.

So how good are you at choosing trustworthy sites and advice? Pretty good actually.

MarketingCharts.com just released a list of the top 10 Health and Medical information sites used by consumers, and 7 of the 10 carry the

Health on the Net (HON) seal.

onlinehealth2Note: I added the Health on the Net (HON) seal and placed checkmarks next to those that have earned this designation.

The other 3 sites in the top 10 – Yahoo! Health, MSN Health, and AOL Health – host user-generated content, but prominently state that their sites do not provide medical or any other health care advice, diagnosis or treatment”.

This is a critical point as Pew’s research also found that 60% of survey e-patients (37% of adults) have accessed user-generated health information online and that it has an impact on their decisions.

Among survey participants who said their most recent medical search had an impact on their health decisions:

  • 60% say the information found online affected a decision about how to treat an illness or condition
  • 56% say it changed their overall approach to maintaining their health or the health of someone they help take care of
  • 38% say it affected a decision about whether to see a doctor

Fully 42% of all adults say they or someone they know has been helped by following medical advice found on the internet. The flip side however is sobering. Three percent of all adults, say they or someone they know has been harmed by following the medical advice they got online.

Keep safe when looking online for medical advice by sticking to reputable sites. These will carry the Health on the Net (HON) seal of approval. The HONcode is the oldest and the most used ethical and trustworthy code for medical and health related information available on Internet. Their seal is only given to sites that have been accredited against a strict set of principles. If you do not see this seal prominently displayed in the lower right corner on the health, medical, or wellness website you are visiting, go to the Health On The Net Foundation and look up the website using their Trustworthy health sites search.

Remember that while there may be great information in blogs and forums containing user-generated content, you need to be cautious basing decisions on other’s experiences. You do not want to find yourself among the 3% who were harmed by following medical advice they got online.

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Posted by Linda Criddle

Who are you going to trust: Your doctor or the Web?

February 25, 2009

Getting the best information about your health and the health of your family members and pets is important. So where do you ask for advice?

Sixty percent of consumers now turn to the Internet for medical advice online according to research conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation in the fall of 2007. What is astonishing is that 54 percent follow online advice even when they didn’t believe it!

There are very reputable medical Web sites that provide a wealth of information about a broad spectrum of medical conditions. And there are plenty of quack sites that dispense entirely spurious medical “advice.” So how can you tell the difference?

For people

  • Ask your doctor if he or she recommends the Web site.
  • Look for the Health on the Net (HON) seal of approval which is only given to sites that have been accredited against a strict set of principles. If you don’t see this seal on the site, you can search for it.
  • Ask your vet if he or she recommends the Web site.
  • There is no HON equivalent for pet care sites, so ask the following questions:
  • Who created the Web site? Are they credentialed experts?
  • Do they keep the site current?
  • Does the site contain information relevant for pets in your area? (Some parasites, for example, are more of an issue in some areas than others.)

For pets

Your health and the health of those you love is not something to take chances on. Though qualified medical Web sites provide a wealth of information that can help you understand symptoms and illnesses, no Web site will provide you with better  or more reliable information than a well trained medical specialist who knows you, your family members, or your pet. Before treating yourself based on information you find online, always consult with your own medical advisor.

Linda

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Posted by Linda Criddle

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