A fast-growing segment of the web population:
The number of so-called cyberchondriacs seeking health information on the Web has soared to about 160 million in 2006 — a 37 percent rise over two years, according a new poll.“Cyberchondriacs now represent 84 percent of all online adults, up from last year’s 80 percent, and 72 percent in 2005,” Harris Interactive, the market research firm that conducted the survey, said in a statement.
Related posts:
- The complexities of drawing blood
- HIPAA is impeding research this time
- Bad, but not bad enough
- Another tort reform success story
- Drug reps getting cranky
- Robin S.: A marriage made in heaven
- Doctors treating themselves
KevinMD.com on Facebook
{ 4 comments }
Oh, come now. Not everyone who seeks out health information on the Internet is a hypochondriac. Some of us just want to be a little more knowledgeable, and a 15-minute visit with the doc doesn’t always suffice.
I mean, you want patients to be somewhat engaged in managing their health, don’t you?
Cyberchondriac was a poor choice of label. The article in the link doesn’t make any connection to hyperchondriac behavior, nor should it.
Hell, it’s only natural that as more people have access to a resource, more are going to use it. Hardly newsworthy.
Cyberchondriac? Computer-cartilage? Dumb neologism.
Anyone who doesn’t take the time to educate himself about his illness and the drugs he is taking is a fool. Many of us learn the hard way to never take what a doctor says as law. Perhaps we should describe those who can’t blow their nose without a doctor’s instructions as medichondriacs?
Comments on this entry are closed.