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Majority Find Online Health Information Reliable

The number of people looking for health information online has reached 154 million, representing 67 percent of the U.S. adult population, according to a new poll from Harris Interactive. The majority (83%) of people looking for health information online indicate their search was successful and almost half (45%) say it was "very successful." An even larger majority (87%) believes that this information was reliable, but only 28 percent said it was "very reliable."

Online Health Videos Top Resource For Consumers

Almost 50 percent of consumers say that online health videos are a top resource when searching for medical conditions and prescription drug information according to a new survey by Prevention, Men's Health and Women's Health magazines. Health information websites such as WebMD were rated as the most popular destinations to view health information videos (43%) followed by pharmaceutical websites (14%), video sharing sites (9%) and social networking sites (6%).

Microsoft, Mayo Clinic Partner On Health Records Tool

The Mayo Clinic has partnered with Microsoft to launch a free online tool that allows people to manage their medical information on the Web. The application called the "Mayo Clinic Health Manager" allows users to organize health information for multiple family members, access information from one location, and proactively manage their health.

Over Half Go Online For Health Information

More than half (59%) of U.S. adults use online resources to obtain health information according to an iCrossing study "How America Searches: Health & Wellness."

Americans Stay Healthy Searching Online

Seventy percent of adults in the U.S. use the Internet as their main source for medical and health information according to a study done by Harris Interactive and commissioned by Ask.com

Consumers Trust The Internet For Health Info

Seventy-five percent of consumers said they view the Internet as their most trusted source for gathering medical and drug information according to Prospectiv's 2007 Pharmaceutical Marketing poll.

Healthline Launches Symptom Search

Especially for the hypochondriac in all of us, Healthline.com unveiled its new Symptom Search product this week. The "search-driven symptom exploration tool" pulls data from the Centers for Disease Control and from medical reference libraries. In all, says the company, 3,500 symptoms and 900 diseases are documented. Healthline says that's ten times the number of symptoms covered by WebMD or MayoClinic.

Searchers Rarely Vet Online Health Sources

Can there be an online placebo effect, or is the health information online just really that good? That could be investigated, but it seems the average online health information seeker wouldn't go so far as to find out.