How many people access webmd

His appendix was removed just hours later. Had he not used the Internet, he might have waited until his symptoms were unbearable and his condition had far worsened. Being proactively informed and educated about healthcare is very important for patients, and services that help them find and take the right medical action at the right time have the power to save lives. She searches Google, finding forum discussions about painful procedures and cancer diagnoses.

That could be enough to scare her out of making the phone call. If a second diagnosis opinion or alternative treatment plan is just a mouse click away, how do you know that your doctor is right about your condition and care? Healthline Media operates three websites: Healthline.

Red Ventures acquired Healthline Media last week for an undisclosed amount. Podcasts have become increasingly popular, including among physicians. The pandemic accelerated HCPs use of and reliance on podcasts. For all medical questions, UpToDate is a great source. It's mostly paywalled though patient information summaries are free, and again, it has no advertising.

Another nonprofit, Cochrane , is also a solid source with easy-to-understand, "plain language" summaries of clinical evidence.

I'd go to all these sites before WebMD, but none is a substitute for seeing a doctor you trust. PS: Free study idea for researchers — please follow up on my mini survey and test the reliability of medical websites that millions of patients rely on. They also updated their page on weight loss supplements to reflect new information from Natural Medicine, a source for evidence on complementary and alternative medicine.

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Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. They found WebMD, along with its sister site Medscape, were the top recipients of industry dollars: Top medical communication company recipients of company grants. JAMA They're not alone in that regard. When I visited the page on weight loss pills , an advertisement on meal replacement shakes popped up, as did an ad for the drug Qsymia — which is among the six drugs featured in the article: WebMD's diet pill page.

What independent doctors think of WebMD But those were just my observations after spending a few hours on the site. Delivered Fridays.

Thanks for signing up! Check your inbox for a welcome email. Email required. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice and European users agree to the data transfer policy. Remember when we talked about web developers using Web 2. According to their website, WebMD seeks out sponsorship and advertisements from relevant manufacturers to provide health information. They claim this form of advertisement enables them to offer their content at no cost. But before you start getting distressed, let me bring up a somewhat positive opposition.

Further research should place emphasis on evaluating the credibility behind online health information and their content sources. Just last year, the National Institutes of Health proposed the creation of a complete online archive for all medical and biological research that would give everyone easy and free access to the latest medical research BMJ,