Is Online Health Information Credible?

Are you checking your sources when researching health information online? With the smartphone and tablet computer market rising, more health information is available online  than ever before.

The Bupa Health Pulse surveyed more than 12,000 people in Australia, Brazil, Britain, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain and the United States and found that more than 80 percent of people with internet access use it to search for health or medical-related topics. And only a quarter of those people say they check where their sources come from.

“Relying on dodgy information can easily lead to people taking risks with inappropriate tests and treatments, wasting money and causing unnecessary worry,” says Annabel Bentley, a medical director at Bupa Health Pulse. To read more about this topic, click here.

With so many online health content going unchecked these days, do you think people should be more cautious when relying on online health advice? And does the benefit of getting free online health information, even if it’s not accurate, outweigh the cost of going to your physician? Let us know what you think!