Poll: Do you turn to the internet first for medical advice?
One in four people in the UK admit to self-diagnosing illnesses rather than make time for a doctor's appointment, a new poll show.
Research reveals that 22% of people have chosen to diagnose their symptoms on the web because they were unable to get a doctor's appointment (11%) or because their GP wasn't available quickly enough (10.8%).
The report also reveals that the internet is now the first place people go for advice when starting to feel unwell, more so than their partner or a medical professional. This is true for all age groups under 65 years old.
The report, published by PushDoctor.co.uk, suggests the UK is becoming a nation of impatient patients, who are not willing to change plans to accommodate appointments to see their GP.
When asked what they would not be prepared to cancel in order to fit in a doctor's appointment for a health issue causing them ?'moderate concern', 47% literally weren't prepared to get out of bed, saying that they wouldn't miss the opportunity of a lie-in to see their doctor. An additional 50% wouldn't cancel a gym session, 46% would keep arrangements to meet friends for lunch and 38% wouldn't even be prepared to rearrange plans for a shopping trip.
Analysis of data from 61 million UK internet searches for 160 leading health issues, reveals the trend for self-diagnoses is on the rise, up 19% over the last 12 months (an average of an extra 848,000 searches each month). The most common health searches reveal that back pain, diarrhea and depression are our leading concerns.
