Self-diagnosis via the web is a growing trend: according to Carl Heneghan, director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at the University of Oxford, search engines register nearly 70.000 searches related to health issues every minute.
In some Latin American countries, one of the most searched words is “symptom,” according to a study by the American digital marketing firm SEMrush, published by La Opinión in April 20192. For some experts, this activity generates more problems than benefits: patients prefer to follow the recommendations of blogs, forums and pages that are not always written by certified doctors.
To deal with this situation, professionals from around the world have begun to mobilize. Such is the case of the Association of eHealth Researchers of Spain (AIES), which created Health without hoaxes, an initiative with which they seek to contribute to truthful information on the Internet and, thus, reduce the risks of this practice.
However, for some experts, self-diagnosis platforms can be used, but in moderation and responsibly, because they do not replace health services. Dr. Margaret McCartney, a medical educator, recommends making these types of queries on pages based on medical evidence and avoiding the use of forums.
In this sense, creators of telemedicine platforms and collaborative portals created by professionals, such as 1Doc3, see these spaces as a possibility to close the gaps in access to medical services. According to the 2017 Tracking Universal Health Coverage report, carried out by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank, half of the world's population does not have access to basic health services. For them, these evidence-based websites can be an opportunity to democratize health.
Bibliography:
- BBC. How to know which websites to trust for your health information. August 3, 2019. Retrieved from:
https://www.who.int/es/news-room/detail/13-12-2017-world-bank-and-who-half-the-world-lacks-access-to-essential-health-services-100-million-still-pushed-into-extreme-poverty-because-of-health-expenses - BBC. How to know which websites to trust for your health information. August 3, 2019. Retrieved from:
https://www.who.int/es/news-room/detail/13-12-2017-world-bank-and-who-half-the-world-lacks-access-to-essential-health-services-100-million-still-pushed-into-extreme-poverty-because-of-health-expenses - La Opinión. Colombians increase Google searches for medical consultations. April 30, 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.laopinion.com.co/tendencias/colombianos-aumentan-busquedas-en-google-sobre-consultas-medicas-176014#OP
- World Health Organization (December 13, 2017). Retrieved from:
https://www.who.int/es/news-room/detail/13-12-2017-world-bank-and-who-half-the-world-lacks-access-to-essential-health-services-100-million-still-pushed-into-extreme-poverty-because-of-health-expenses