Australian scientists have questioned how well "Symptom-Checker" on the Internet actually are. In the Medical Journal of Australia, you describe almost hair-raising results: Only about a third of all cases, the diagnoses were correct, and in case of emergencies, the Council, whether or not medical help was, or was not, to 40 percent in the wrong.
The interest in health topics on the Internet is large: it is estimated that there are per Minute, about 70,000 health-related searches on Google. The extent to which patients find useful information, scientists have studied and came to a sobering result: 36 international Symptom-Checker provided in only 36 percent of the cases the correct diagnosis as the first result, and found only 52 percent under the first three results. Also, the advice on when and where medical care should be sought, only in 49 percent of cases applicable. In case of emergency, the Tools in about 60 percent of the cases were right, in the innocuous cases, by contrast, only 30 to 40 percent, because people have tended to be sent to often to the doctor.
Tempting, but often unzuverläcasual
The author of the study told me Ella Hill of the Edith Cowan University in Perth, the results should encourage people to Think about: "It is tempting to use these Tools to find out what is causing certain symptoms. But they are at best unreliable, and can be, at worst, dangerous." She pointed out that the lack of government regulation and data security the main problems with the quality of the Online Symptom-be Checker.
Nevertheless, she holds health information from the Internet for a sensible Supplement: "These Websites are not a substitute for a doctor’s visit, but they can be helpful to provide further information as soon as you have an official diagnosis."
ZOU