More and more patients in Australia are using Google to study their condition and pay for unnecessary medical examinations. (photo of Daily Mail)
According to the Daily Mail, more and more patients in Australia are using Google to study their condition and pay for unnecessary medical examinations.
More than half of Australians use Google to find answers to medical questions at least once a week, according to a survey by MedicalDirector, a pharmaceutical technology consultancy. Two out of three people use Google for self-diagnosis, while 72 percent use Google to study their concerns rather than seeking help from health professionals.
Doctors say patients' self-diagnosis can be wrong and cause them to fail to get the treatment they need.
Emergency physician Panis (Stephen Parnis), for example, said patients had persuaded their armpit masses to be sebum cysts, but in fact it was breast cancer.
It is reported that more than 50% of Australians through Google to find cold and flu drugs information. Eighteen percent looked for mental health information, and six percent looked for sexual health information.
Panis said that more and more patients come to the emergency room, they think the severity of the disease is more serious than the actual. However, he also said searching the Internet for information can help patients identify questions to consult a doctor.
(RACGP) speaker Lois (Cameron Loy), the Royal Australian Association of General Practitioners, said patients became anxious after looking for information about symptoms online. A patient who had a headache was convinced that he had a brain tumor and asked for a brain scan.