Do You Have Health Information Overload?

Mandy Flaman, BSP Candidate 2010

University of Saskatchewan

Prepared during Consumer Health Information Corporation Clerkship
McLean, VA

Try Googling “what to do for a headache.” You’ll get about 25 million hits. A news report with scary-sounding statistics from a health research study is released almost daily. And many of us can recall a few months ago when websites and message boards were buzzing with opinions on who should get a flu shot. There is plenty of health information out there. How do you know if you can believe what you read? It’s often hard to decide what information is helpful, and then how to act upon it.

Here are a few simple ideas from a pharmacist on how to assess and use the health information you find.

The Role of Health Information

Medical and health information is always being updated.  Health care professionals make treatment decisions based on the best information available at the time.  This is combined with what we have seen and know has worked before.   

Some people use the information they find in the media and on the Internet to replace the care they would normally get from a health care professional.  This can be dangerous.  There are reports of life-threatening reactions, including hospital admissions, from suddenly stopping all medicines and following Internet advice without consulting a health professional.    

There are many websites designed to help people with diagnosing their health problems.  It is important to see a doctor for a diagnosis.  The doctor will perform a physical exam and patient history, and they have important clinical experience.  The Internet just can’t compete with this!  Instead, consider using the Internet as a tool to increase your knowledge and help you discuss your concerns with your doctor.  A person who is informed and involved in their own health care is an active member of their health care team. This means they work with their doctor, nurse and pharmacist to make sure they are on the right medicines for them and get the most benefit from those medicines. 

 What to Look For

The Internet can be useful in helping people find information on conditions, treatments, and patient support resources. However, there is also a lot of false information with no scientific or medical source.  

Questions to ask when you see health information online or on television:

• Is the person making the claim also selling the product?  A person who is selling something might want to promote the good sides and downplay the bad sides of that product.
• Does the information only present one side?  If a report is 100% good or 100% bad, it probably isn’t telling the whole story.
• .Is it only one person’s story about their health problems or treatments? This does not mean another person will always have the same experience.
• Does it sound too good to be true?  Any cure-all that is supposed to work for everybody and for every condition is probably not real.

 When looking at news reports about research studies, remember that the report you are getting is one person’s explanation of the study results. Study results are not always black or white. Two experts might explain the same results differently. Questions to ask when you see a report about a research study:

• Are the people in the study similar to you?  If so, the results are more likely to apply to you.
• What is the new therapy being compared to?  Usually it should be compared to other treatments that are currently used.
• How many people were involved in the study?  For common conditions, like high blood pressure or diabetes, there should be hundreds or thousands of people involved.   

Some Useful Sites

The Public Health Agency of Canada (www.phac-aspc.gc.ca) has a good website for health information.  You may also want to look for information on specific conditions. For example, try the Lung Association (www.lung.ca) for facts about asthma. The Heart and Stroke Foundation (www.heartandstroke.ca) has good information about high cholesterol.  Mayoclinic.com and webmd.com are American sites.  They are easy to use and have good general health information.  Remember that general health information does not apply to everybody.   

The Pharmacist’s Role

Consider asking your pharmacist to help you sort through this information.  Find a “family pharmacist” just like you would a family doctor. It is more likely that you will receive quality care if your pharmacist knows you and your medications.  You should be able to take information to your pharmacist and ask, “How does this apply to me?”  They might want to do some more research.  They might say that even based on the conflicting information, you are still on the best medicine for your condition.  Or your pharmacist might decide to give the doctor a call. Together, they might make some changes to your medicines based on the information you have found. 

 The Bottom Line

It’s important to be informed about your health conditions and your medicines.  The internet and the media can be helpful, but only if the information is from trustworthy sources.  Always use the information you find in combination with the decisions you make with your health care provider. And finally, think of your pharmacist the next time you have questions about health information.  They might even have some ideas on what you can do for that headache – saving you from searching through thousands of Google results for the answer.

© 2010 Consumer Health Information Corporation. All rights reserved.