Doctors Are Still Most-Trusted Sources; Pharmacists and Web Sites Nearly Tied For Second

Survey results released in the first part of April 2006 show that patients in the U.S. are using web sites on the Internet to learn about their prescription drugs nearly as often as they inquire with their pharmacists.

Generally — according to the December 2005 report from the Health Information National Trends Survey — nearly 50% of patients now go online first with health questions, with only 11% going to their physician in the first instance with their questions, despite the finding that 62% of patients surveyed said that their doctor was the most-trusted source of medical information.

This April 2006 report about a survey conducted by Accenture in January 2006 is closely in line with those findings:

More than six out of 10 (61 percent) of the survey’s 1,000 U.S. respondents said that physicians are their most trusted source for medication information, followed by pharmacists and online medical sites (16 percent and 13 percent, respectively). Nearly one-quarter (22 percent) of all respondents said that they learn about medications from pharmaceutical company-sponsored websites.

The April 2006 Accenture survey report also sheds light on what type of medical research patients are looking for on the Internet.  Asked why they look more at web sites today than five years ago, these were the two main reasons given:

1. to identify potential safety risks and side effects related to medications prescribed for them (cited by 81 percent); and,
2. to educate themselves so that they can play a larger role in their medical care (cited by 76 percent).

This survey report shows, also, that there are apparent gender differences among patients as regards their use of the Internet for drug-safety information. According to this report:

• women go to medical-related web sites more than men (54 percent versus 43 percent); and,
• women visit web sites sponsored by drug companies more than men (26 percent versus 18 percent).

This survey report from Accenture, based on 1,000 U.S. patients taking prescription drugs on a regular basis, was conducted in January 2006.

(Posted by: Tom Lamb)