Another story has come to light on how Dr Google isn't the best adviser for medical stuff. It turns out most people use Wikipedia or Web MD for information on drugs. A new story in the New England Journal of Medicine published recently talks about it.
'"Despite debates over its credibility, Wikipedia is reportedly the most frequently consulted online health care resource globally,” the authors write. “Wikipedia pages typically appear among the top few Google search results and are among the references most likely to be checked by internet users.” Wikipedia, along with Google and WebMD, is where more than half of all Americans turn to for health information, according to the report.
Researchers found that when the FDA issues a drug safety warning, Google searches about that drug increase 82% on average in the following week. Wikipedia pages about the drug see a 175% increase in views on the day of the announcement.'
The cause for concern is that the FDA does not issue drug safety warnings and update Wikipedia - its left to the general public. WebMD is a little better but it is not proactively updated with things like drug safety warnings. If you need that kind of information you need to follow the FDA on Twitter. So the call is to get the FDA to reevaluate their social media presence''.
I'm not sure the problem is with the FDA's social media presence than there is with that fact that so many people go to Wikipedia for medical information. Wikipedia has credibility issues. It is not based on any specific information but on updates from the community. I never use Wikipedia for medical stuff because I do not trust it.
Dr Google insists in on displaying Wikipedia results prominently in so many search results so of course it is used so frequently. I think we need to learn to use more common sense and switch from Wikipedia to WebMD and other more credible sources.
Showing posts with label medical information. Show all posts
Showing posts with label medical information. Show all posts
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Further proof Dr Google isn't very good
Another story has come to light on how Dr Google isn't the best adviser for medical stuff. It turns out most people use Wikipedia or Web MD for information on drugs. A new story in the New England Journal of Medicine published recently talks about it.
'"Despite debates over its credibility, Wikipedia is reportedly the most frequently consulted online health care resource globally,” the authors write. “Wikipedia pages typically appear among the top few Google search results and are among the references most likely to be checked by internet users.” Wikipedia, along with Google and WebMD, is where more than half of all Americans turn to for health information, according to the report.
Researchers found that when the FDA issues a drug safety warning, Google searches about that drug increase 82% on average in the following week. Wikipedia pages about the drug see a 175% increase in views on the day of the announcement.'
The cause for concern is that the FDA does not issue drug safety warnings and update Wikipedia - its left to the general public. WebMD is a little better but it is not proactively updated with things like drug safety warnings. If you need that kind of information you need to follow the FDA on Twitter. So the call is to get the FDA to reevaluate their social media presence''.
I'm not sure the problem is with the FDA's social media presence than there is with that fact that so many people go to Wikipedia for medical information. Wikipedia has credibility issues. It is not based on any specific information but on updates from the community. I never use Wikipedia for medical stuff because I do not trust it.
Dr Google insists in on displaying Wikipedia results prominently in so many search results so of course it is used so frequently. I think we need to learn to use more common sense and switch from Wikipedia to WebMD and other more credible sources.
'"Despite debates over its credibility, Wikipedia is reportedly the most frequently consulted online health care resource globally,” the authors write. “Wikipedia pages typically appear among the top few Google search results and are among the references most likely to be checked by internet users.” Wikipedia, along with Google and WebMD, is where more than half of all Americans turn to for health information, according to the report.
Researchers found that when the FDA issues a drug safety warning, Google searches about that drug increase 82% on average in the following week. Wikipedia pages about the drug see a 175% increase in views on the day of the announcement.'
The cause for concern is that the FDA does not issue drug safety warnings and update Wikipedia - its left to the general public. WebMD is a little better but it is not proactively updated with things like drug safety warnings. If you need that kind of information you need to follow the FDA on Twitter. So the call is to get the FDA to reevaluate their social media presence''.
I'm not sure the problem is with the FDA's social media presence than there is with that fact that so many people go to Wikipedia for medical information. Wikipedia has credibility issues. It is not based on any specific information but on updates from the community. I never use Wikipedia for medical stuff because I do not trust it.
Dr Google insists in on displaying Wikipedia results prominently in so many search results so of course it is used so frequently. I think we need to learn to use more common sense and switch from Wikipedia to WebMD and other more credible sources.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Healthline - online help for medical issues
Healthline is an online resource for many health issues, blah, blah, blah. I discovered them when they discovered my blog a few years ago I think, or maybe I signed up with them before. I have no idea now (thanks to chemobrain, fibro fog, etc). Anyway, they have nominated me for one of their best breast cancer blogs (vote for me - and Ann at But Doctor I Hate Pink here - she's in first place but we want to make sure she wins. I just want votes for my ego. I have 11. She has 2900).
Then they asked me to link to their best breast cancer videos of 2013 which you can see here. They emailed me this request a month or two ago - but you may call me slow.
All along I have been thinking they only have information on breast cancer. Call me slow. They are called Healthline - that includes the word 'health'. Today I received an email asking me to add their Rheumatoid Arthritis information on my blog.
Then I did a little poking around on their site and they have all kinds of information on RA, fibromyalgia and all my other ailments. I think I need to spend a little more time on their site. I'll also have to rearrange my resources page to include my other ailments. Now thats a project.
Then they asked me to link to their best breast cancer videos of 2013 which you can see here. They emailed me this request a month or two ago - but you may call me slow.
All along I have been thinking they only have information on breast cancer. Call me slow. They are called Healthline - that includes the word 'health'. Today I received an email asking me to add their Rheumatoid Arthritis information on my blog.
Then I did a little poking around on their site and they have all kinds of information on RA, fibromyalgia and all my other ailments. I think I need to spend a little more time on their site. I'll also have to rearrange my resources page to include my other ailments. Now thats a project.
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