The internet not only gives a global voice to anyone with internet access, it also allows global access to knowledge. Much of human knowledge can be found online, although large proportions may be hidden in pay-for-use databases. Nonetheless, the internet can readily provide additional information or even second opinions for almost anything you can think of. One such area is health – but be sure you can trust what you find.
An early adopter of the internet, the health industry quickly realised the benefits of being able to get around the typical doctor-patient relationship. Drug companies can sell their products directly to you, and reap the extra profit from doing so. They can also (more positively) publish a lot more details about a given drug, its side-effects, and the conditions for using it such as incompatibility with alcohol.
Online “doctors” can provide 24- hour assistance too. Rather than queue up at the local clinic for a 5-minute expensive consultation that merely results in a list of drugs to buy, why not do it for free, instantly, online?
While there are definitely benefits to getting a second opinion online, self-diagnosis is a dangerous game to play. A visit to the doctor entails more than simply a review of the problem – the doctor typically takes in other possibly unspoken aspects that may contribute to or be part of the problem. Not least is the ability to see your expression and hear your tone of voice. Entering your health problem into a search engine is much less likely to result in an accurate diagnosis.
Even so, a check online after a visit to the doctor (when you have been told what the problem is, and what to do about it) will likely give you a much broader picture of the ailment itself, the alternative treatments available, and the effectiveness, popularity, and side-effects of the cure you have been given. Getting all this from the doctor would take a lot more time, and require a great deal of patience from the busy doctor, and is really not practical.
Where you get your online information from is critically important. As stated, anyone can publish just about anything online – and claim to be official or expert. Any information source must be one you can trust and depend on. For example, the mydr.com.au website is a commercial (advert-sponsored) website but it has been accredited to a federal government initiative (HealthInSite) that ensures quality assurance of health information on the Internet. The site aims to provide the most comprehensive and relevant health information resource in Australia. Other such sites can be found around the world, look for an “About Us” link or similar to see who gives the site credibility, and maybe even go to those government or official sites to confirm that the health website really does have their support.
Health and medical websites are another example of the power of the internet – providing easy access to extensive information. But make sure your sources are reliable and credible, you could make disastrous decisions if you depend on some crackpot's opinion even if it is presented in an official-seeming web page.
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