E-Patients, Health Information and Your Surgical Practice

The Internet has changed our lives, and is changing everything we are touch.  Healthcare is no different, and undoubtedly you've seen a rise of patients in your surgical practice self-diagnosing or quoting treatment ideas from Wikipedia, bloggers, and WebMD.   They are also using social media to accelerate referrals, sharing questions concerns and outcomes with their friends and peers.  The bad news is that isn't a fad and isn't going away, self-educating has become normal for everyone as they think about their own health.

The good news is that is presents a number of great opportunities for you and your practice to become a trusted authority well before a patient walks in your door.

E-patients and their Hunt for Health Information, presentation by Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet Project compiled the SlideShare below and has some phenomenal statistics on technology use, social media use and how these factor into patients decisions regarding their healthcare.

Some crazy relevant statistics about patients online activity

(Adult Internet Users over the last 12 months)

• 55% have looked online for information about a specific disease or medical problem
• 43% have looked online for information about certain medical treatment or procedure
• 27% have looked online for information about how to lose weight or how to control your weight
• 60% of e-patients say the information found online affected a decision about how to treat an illness or condition.
• 56% say it changed their overall approach to maintaining their health or the health of someone they help take care of.
• 53% say it lead them to ask a doctor new questions, or to get a second opinion from another doctor.

Take some time and review the presentation, I think you might be surprised by what your patients are doing and how you help them and your practice grow.

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