More U.S. adults use Web for health
By Stephanie O'Brien, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 3:00 PM ET Nov 26, 2000
Newswatch
Latest Headlines
Get News Alerts
WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) - More than half of American adults with Internet access have used the Web to get health or medical information, according to a new study.
The report, from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, found that more people are turning to the Web for answers to medical questions as HMOs and stricter insurance rules have prompted them to them to be more assertive in their own medical care.
According to the study, which was released Sunday, 52 million U.S. adults, or 55 percent of Internet users, have searched the Web for information about options for treating illness and the potential outcome of given ailments.
Forty-eight percent of the survey population, dubbed "health seekers" by the surveyors, said that the advice they found on the Internet has improved the way they take care of themselves. Among the things they use the Net for are checking report cards for hospitals, doctors and insurance companies.
The survey also found that women are much more likely than men to get healthcare information online.
Among all users' primary concerns are fear of getting inaccurate information and worries about privacy protection.
Health seekers expressed worry that sites they visited might sell or give away information about what they did online. They were also concerned that an insurance company might raise rates or deny coverage based on the sites they've visited.
The study also found that 63 percent of health seekers and 60 percent of all Internet users think that putting medical records online is bad, even if the records are on a secure, password-protected site, for fear of their personal medical information getting into the wrong hands.
Companies in the e-health sector include WebMD (HLTH: news, msgs) which offers services to connect physicians, hospitals, pharmacies, and insurance providers with transaction and information retrieval systems. It also offers online benefit management systems for employers. Its Web site provides consumers and professionals with health-related information, news and other services.
Competitors include McKesson HBOC (MCK: news, msgs) , National Data Corp. (NDC: news, msgs) and Shared Medical Systems.
The Pew Internet & American Life Project is a non-profit initiative of the Pew Research Center for People and the Press.
The report is based on the findings of a daily tracking survey on Americans' use of the Internet. Results include data from roughly six months of telephone interviewing conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates between March 1, 2000 and August 20, 2000, among a sample of 12,751 adults, 18 and older.
www2.marketwatch.com |
