USA Today /(Cherry Hill, N.J.) Courier-Post (3/20, Wood) reports that “for many, online health message boards have replaced doctors and therapists as their first medical contacts, providing free support and (sometimes) valuable information to more than just the 50.7 million Americans living without health insurance, the latest figure from the US Census Bureau.” However, “our cough-and-click culture also is getting its dose of misinformation, relying on advice and anecdotes from mostly anonymous sources.” The article quotes one physician acknowledges that while there are some “valuable” sites, “there’s also a lot of scandalous material that’s not true.”
Related Links:
– “Googling bad for your health? Docs debate online health forums,”Steve Wood , USA Today, March 19, 2012.