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New service modes and channels to the consumer
One of the most popular uses of the Internet by consumers, particularly
those over 40, is searching for health-related information. And with the
development of numerous online communities, consumers have taken
advantage of the opportunities provided to communicate with others
about health conditions that are of concern to them—with other consumers
and with providers of health information right around the globe.
Box 6.3
The Internet and health information
Findings presented at Intel Corporation’s Internet Health Day show that consumers
increasingly seek medical information on the Internet and are using the web to take
a more active role in managing their health. However, physicians are not adopting
the Internet as quickly as their patients.
According to The Harris Poll, 70 million Americans went online between June 1998
and June 1999 looking for health information. A Cyber Dialogue survey found that
48 per cent of online users seeking health information would like to communicate
with their doctor’s office via email, but only three per cent are doing so, and only
11 per cent know their doctor’s email address. Likewise, 74 per cent of online users
seeking health information said a doctor or pharmacist recommendation would make
them more likely to trust a website, but only four per cent are receiving this
guidance. The study further revealed that 33 per cent of patients who want to
communicate with their doctor via email would be likely to switch physicians in
order to do so.
Source: Intel Corporation, 12 October 1999.
The increasing use by motivated and well-educated consumers of
information on the Internet has several implications.
There is an issue of quality and safety—how can consumers be protected
from erroneous, misleading or out-of-date information? And in online
chat rooms for patient support groups, how can consumers be protected
against exploitation (for example by the disguised advertising of ‘miracle
cures’ by someone posing as a fellow sufferer of a disease). It is clear from
market research that while consumers want some quality control or
guidance about reliable information, in the absence of such information
they will use their own judgement rather than avoid the Internet health
sites. Several sites are being established to provide tested information—in
Australia the HealthInSite project is an example, and in the US
drkoop.com is another example.
The second major implication is the expectation that medical practitioners
will be available to respond to email instead of telephone, and that they
will provide information by a website as well as pamphlets in a waiting
room. This has significant cost implications unless a cluster of medical
practitioners and/or health agencies share the infrastructure costs. In the
context of the US health care market, this development will be
underwritten by health insurers, but in the Australian context this seems
unlikely, at least in the short term.
The third major implication is the potential interpolation of a new
intermediary between doctor and patient, as part of the medical role is
filled by a ‘health gateway’ Internet service. There are active moves by
owners of prestigious healthcare brands (like the Mayo Clinic) to expand
the reach and earning power of the brand by moving into Internet health
service. The next step is the online medical consultation and the online
drugstore. Already there are significant clinical and regulatory concerns
about the ability to buy drugs by e-commerce from international sources
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