More patients self-diagnosing online
pharmafile | October 6, 2014 | News story | Medical Communications, Sales and Marketing | Facebook, GPs, Twitter, digital, online, self-diagnosing, social media
Prior to visiting doctors more people are utilising the internet and social media to determine an illness and its subsequent diagnosis a report says.
Study findings from ‘The Digital Health Debate’ report by healthcare agency group Cello Insight, note that over three-quarters (78%) of the doctors it surveyed said their patients went online for answers ahead of seeing them.
On top of that, one-third of (32%) Doctors also claim that many of their patients already have a pre-determined idea of what their course of treatment should be, and the specific named prescription they believe they need.
Dan Brilot who is Cello Health Insight’s digital director and was responsible for the report, says: “Doctors have witnessed an explosion in the quantity and quality of information now available to them and their patients via digital media and technology. Consumers are increasingly seeking out information (and technological tools such as fitness and health apps) to provide as much information as possible before – and after – consultation.”
According to the findings such proactivity on the part of patients prompted a mixed response from the 330 UK doctors surveyed, with just 5% believing that patients naming a specific treatment or prescription is actually helpful to them.
In contrast one-fifth of GPs (20%) said patients viewing potential symptoms information online is useful. Doctors themselves are increasingly using online sources for research the report also notes.
It says two-thirds (67%) of UK Doctors had even used general social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Wikipedia for professional purposes, predominantly in order to receive and share information with other doctors.
Some GPs surveyed did indeed see a positive role for technology in the doctor-patient relationship, although only 40% of those surveyed believed patients recording their symptoms in a diary app on their smartphone or tablet would be beneficial.
The rise of the ePatient
The survey seems to highlight the changing face of healthcare, which is arguably being restructured in the light of advancing technology and the apparent rise of the ePatient.
All of this could represent significant new opportunities for pharma, to not only promote new disease awareness campaigns via social media, but also emerge from the shadows and even engage with patients on a one-to-one basis online more.
Often driving these new forms of interaction is of course the technology itself and the advances made there, take for example the September iPhone and Apple watch launch which promised more wearable self-monitoring offerings via its HealthKit platform.
HealthKit which is Apple’s aggregating system that centralises information for a variety of health apps, has finally taken off now after it had a somewhat troubled lift-off following system bugs.
Brillot adds: “Currently there are around 6,800 apps in the health and fitness category on the Apple App store. With the release of the iPhone 6, and an accompanying raft of health tracking features including the HealthKit app which can send data from your phone directly to your doctor, that number will surely rise even further.”
Technology providers such as Google and Samsung – along with pharma itself – are also clearly keen to tap into any opportunities that can arise from an eHealth market, and will increasingly tailor offerings towards wearable devices and services centered around increasingly savvy, and health-aware consumers.
Brett Wells
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