From Healthcare IT News: Bernie Monegain reports online information has patients doubting doctors.
A new survey has illustrated that 85.6 million U.S. adults have doubts on the opinion of their doctors. Conversely a majority of Americans view health care providers as their most trusted source of medical information.
Kelton Research conducted an online survey using 1,000 U.S. adults, 18 years or older. Some key findings include:
- Young people are most likely to be skeptical of medical advice. More than four in 10, or 43 percent of Americans ages 18 to 34, said they doubted their health provider’s advice when it conflicted with online sources.
- Hispanics are the least likely to rely on authority figures. Thirty-four percent of Hispanics said they would consult their primary healthcare provider first if they were diagnosed with a medical condition, as opposed to 62 percent of whites and 61 percent of African-Americans.
- Once-trusted institutions receive low marks. Overall, very few Americans listed institutions such as the government, the media or non-profits as highly credible healthcare information sources.
Read more on findings:Online info has patients doubting doctors, survey finds