Industry News

A Closer Look At Users Of Online Health Information

Women are traditionally considered the healthcare decision maker for their family, a role that is reflected in searches for online health information to evaluate symptoms or research conditions and treatments. While the Pew Research Center reports women are more likely than men to search Internet health websites, a new analysis by CoreSource shows that women are also driving usage of an employer-sponsored health management portal known as the HealthCenter.

The analysis of members of CoreSource-administered benefit plans who used the HealthCenter showed:

• More than 30 percent of users were women use the HealthCenter, while 20 percent wereof men use it.
• Employees with spouses and/or children and employees aged 25 through 54 were more likely to use the HealthCenter.
• Individuals with higher risk medical conditions used the system more than other segments of the groups.
• Members with chronic medical conditions are more likely to use the HealthCenter than those who do not have a chronic disease.

“These statistics reflect the role women traditionally take in managing healthcare for their family,” said Rob Corrigan, Vice President of Product Management and Planning, CoreSource. “The analysis also showed that, even though HealthCenter users were at higher risk of having higher benefit plan costs, they used expensive hospital services and prescription medications less and visited their primary physician more often.”

Millions of Americans go online for health information everyday, a trend that has forever changed the role of patients in the healthcare system. “As technology continues to be enhanced and even more medical information becomes available online, it’s important for the industry to know who is accessing and using the medical information,” Corrigan said.
 
Online health resources can empower some to take an active role in their own healthcare. For example, a Pew Internet & American Life Project study showed that people with disabilities and chronic medical conditions are less likely to browse the Web. But once online, they are more likely to “use that knowledge to question a doctor, manage pain or change the way they cope with a chronic condition,” NPR reported on October 11, 2007.

One survey shows healthcare consumers believe no one type of site, such as one sponsored by a third party, hospital or other provider, was seen as “dramatically more trustworthy than another” when they are looking for information about causes and treatment on the Internet, according to a white paper published by Change Sciences.

However, healthcare consumers were “more apt to say they trusted their health insurance company with health and health spending information,” according to the white paper, The Consumer Experience of Online Healthcare: Benchmarks for Assessing Effectiveness, Trust, Outcomes and Perceptions of Cost.