Dive Brief:
- A new study from MedData suggests that a majority of physicians make use of search engines help clinical decisions.
- The same survey found that patients often misinterpret what they read online, which causes tension in the doctor-patient relationship.
- Patients relying on Web resources having inadequate content is another hurdle to shared doctor-patient use of the web, according to the survey, which had 164 responses.
Dive Insight:
The survey found that search engine use ranked way above other Internet resources, including industry-specific email, HIPAA-secure online physician communities and social media. Social media ranked the lowest of all, an interesting phenomenon given that physicians who identify as "Health 2.0" practitioners are frequently major contributors to online discussions, especially on LinkedIn and Twitter. Perhaps the physicians who are relying on search engines are the later doctors who are just getting comfortable with web resources after all these years.