Patients seek more healthcare resources online, based on the Sixth Annual Makovsky/Kelton "Pulse of Online Search" Survey, according to HIT Consultant.
The survey received answers from 1,035 Americans, 18 years or older.
Here are five observations:
1. Of those surveyed, 43 percent said they used the Internet to receive physician or medical expert advice.
2. Forty-five percent of patients reported their willingness to use an app to communicate with their physicians, and 44 percent were willing to use an app to track their physical activity.
3. From 2015 to 2016, the report found a 21 percent increase of consumers looking up "treatment options" online, and a 14 percent decrease of consumers looking up "symptoms."
4. Of those surveyed, 61 percent reported they were most likely to ask for specific prescription medications, online.
5. Although 95 percent of consumers view physicians as the most trusted source of medical information, 62 percent of consumers said they research prescribed treatments online following appointments. In that vein, 53 percent of consumers reported researching alternative treatments following appointments.
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