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Internet Having Huge Role In Health Advice, But Lack Of Regulation A Major Concern

KYW Medical Reports Sponsored By Independence Blue Cross

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- We knew it was only a matter of time, but much like television in the last part of the twentieth century, the internet is having a huge role in health advice for the masses.

Back in the peak television years, it was estimated that 48 percent of people used it as their chief source of medical advice. Much of the advice was given on local and national news programs but as viewership has been fragmented to hundreds of television stations and news organizations have limited resources, people have turned to the immediacy of the internet as well as the specificity of topics made available.

A Harris poll yielded very interesting results: two-thirds of women who go online turn to a website for their health concerns and questions, almost twice the number who consult their own mothers with only four percent actively calling their personal physician. The immediacy is the good news, but the lack of regulation on the internet is a major concern when it comes to health advice.

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