Future Now
The IFTF Blog
The accuracy of health information online
The blog, e-patients.net, recently highlighted a new study published in the journal Cancer that examined the quality of health information people find online. According to a press release from the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, its researchers conducted
. . . an extended analysis of Web pages dedicated to disseminating breast cancer information, . . . [and] determined that while most breast cancer data found online was accurate, one in 20 breast cancer Web pages featured inaccuracies and sites displaying complementary and alternative medicine were 15 times more likely to contain false or misleading health information.
The journal article and its associated press release, citing estimates from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, both note that more patients seek health information online rather than visit a physician. This correlates with IFTF's own findings:
