Institute For The Future

"E-patients"

The Pew Internet and American Life Project is a great source of information about online trends relating to health. A recent study revealed that 51% of people with a disability or chronic disease go online, compared to 74% of those who report no chronic condition. But once online, internet users living with disability or chronic illness become avid consumers of health information--86% of them have looked online for information about at least one of 17 health topics (compared with 79% of internet users with no chronic conditions).

The Pew study observes, "Those with chronic conditions are more likely than other e-patients to report that their online searches affected treatment decisions, their interactions with their doctors, their ability to cope with their condition, and their dieting and fitness regimen." 

The report notes that most e-patients start out using a general search engine like Google or Yahoo!, but e-patients with chronic diseases are more likely to turn to "trusted health sites." This trend creates a potential opportunity: "If health care providers have sites or key words to recommend, e-patients with chronic conditions may be especially receptive." This, in turn, reminds me of one of the video scenarios we created for our Spring '07 Conference on Biocitizens and New Media Technologies--check out "Patientology."