Pew Research Institute

After careful review of the document published by The Pew Research Institute on Internet use I could not overlook the areas that referred to health care. Their statistics revealed that adults 18 and over use the Internet to identify health problems solely based on their symptoms with the organization's results ranging anywhere from high 70% to 85%. As a medical professional I am concerned that individuals rely on answers from the internet to symptoms that could require further evaluation by a medical provider. This is a growing practice among our College Health population and students are coming in paralized with anxiety thinking the worse of symptoms like a bump under their armpit or a change in a mole or birthmark and in contrast others are choosing to ignore the information and move on with their lives until months later a serious problem develops. Easy access to the Internet that can provide you with a diagnosis of your symptoms can have both a negative as well as a positive outcome. Provoking unnecessary anxiety supports a negative disposition. Yes, the idea of being able to diagnose that new pimple on your face can have it's advantages if a simple over the counter remedy is recommended and it works but the disadvantage is someone not adhering to the suggested safe treatment and waiting too long to come in or ignoring all suggestions across the board. The latter behavior is dangerous for everyone involved. For example a student who is having a high fever and rash may ignore information on the Internet that addresses being contagious because they choose to rely on a diagnosis from the Internet and convince themselves that it is more important for them to be in class and run the risk of exposing hundreds of students and faculty instead of being seen by their PCP or University Health Services. So how can we protect each other and still enjoy having medical questions answered by the internet? It starts with educating everyone on the importance of seeing a medical provider for illnesses lasting more than two weeks or having key symptoms to specific illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and so on. I also understand that many of us in the United States do not have health care coverage and therefore for these individuals being able to treat themselves and their families as best they can with a quick review of the literature of their symptoms is a positive thing. In the end however one must still recognize that treating yourself based on Internet findings can be dangerous and a clear line needs to be established to avoid serious outcomes to an already delicate situation.