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American Morning

Internet Good Source For Medical Information?

Aired May 23, 2001 - 11:28   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to talk health news now. The Internet can be a valuable source for medical information. But some of that information is incomplete and inaccurate.

This week, the "Journal of the American Medical Association" is taking a closer look at this issue. Joining us now with more on the story, our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen -- Elizabeth, hi. Good to see you.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, too. You know, it's amazing, nearly 100 million Americans are expected to go online this year in search of information about health.

So, a group of doctors decided they'd go online too and check out about 25 web sites. And what they found, that the information was basically accurate, but that it was often complete.

For example, they found one web site said that if a woman finds a lump in her breast, she needs to have a mammogram. But it neglected to add that even if the mammogram didn't find anything, she still needed to follow up with her doctor. So patients shouldn't use the web to replace visiting a doctor, but rather to add to what they learn from their doctor.

KAGAN: So you're not saying don't go on web and look for information, but there's a good way to do it and a bad way to do it. What's the best way to do it?

COHEN: Well, the best way to do it, according to the editors of the "Journal of the American Medical Association," is to be careful. And so they came up with some specific advice about how to do that.

First of all, they said get web site recommendations from your doctor. He or she might point out, for example, that government sites, like the National Institutes of Health, tend to have better information. Also, spend more time on searches so you can evaluate what you're reading and look at more than one web site.

And finally, they suggested discuss what you find on the Internet with your doctor. Some patients actually just print everything out and bring it right in to the doctor's office.

Now, also, the journal editors had some suggestions for questions to ask yourself when looking at a web site. First of all, who are the authors? What are their credentials? Are they truly experts in the field?

Who runs the web site? Do they have a certain bias? For example, they might be either passionately for or against alternative treatment. And you'd want to know that when you read what they have to say.

And are they trying to sell you a product? That's a huge, huge red flag. If they're trying to sell you something, that might taint the information that they give. And how old is the information, another good question to ask.

Now, the study authors say they don't think the Internet is terrible. They just think it shouldn't take the place of your doctor.

KAGAN: I bet a lot of doctors are finding a lot more informed consumers coming in being able to do their own research.

COHEN: Absolutely. I talked to plenty of doctors who say, "We think the Internet is great. It really makes us happy when patients come in because they're more educated."

Some of them don't like it so much because people come up with bad information. And then they have to fix it.

KAGAN: A little reeducation there.

COHEN: Exactly.

KAGAN: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks for joining us.

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