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America Searches for Health Info Online

According to Harris Interactive survey, the number of US citizens searching the web for health information had increased by 16 percent in 2006, from 117 million in 2005 to 136 million now. It also has contributed to some of the increase to an overall rise in Internet use. 74 percent of all U.S. adults went online in 2004 and 77 percent went online in 2006, according to Harris. The company said that "cyberchondriacs," or people who search for health information online, represent 80 percent of all online adults, up from last year`s 72 percent.

The survey also showed that, of 1,020 U.S. adults conducted between July 5 and July 11, 2006, most adults searching the Internet for health information found what they were looking for (88 percent) and most believed the information was at least "somewhat reliable." Twenty-five percent said they believed the information was "very reliable," down from 37 percent in 2005.

The public has been warned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that the Internet can be a source of false and deceitful health information, including wrong drug information, as well as dangerous instructions telling patients to stop taking prescriptions and replace them with "cure-alls." The FDA provides tips for determining the reliability of Web sites with health information. It also provides a list of reliable Web sites.