re: The Top 13 Health Conditions Searched For The Most on the Internet

Julia Schopick — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 22:41:53 GMT

Dr. Mercola:

Thanks so much for alerting your readers to this comScore.com study. I, for one, would probably not have known about it, if it weren’t for your terrific blog.

At first, I was encouraged by your belief that the fact that “two-thirds of those Internet users were researching drug information as it related to their own health conditions,” is “a hopeful sign people may be taking better responsibility for their own health decisions and are not being suckered by the drug-addicted excuse that passes for conventional medicine in America.”

But then, I read the comments after your posting, as well as the original article itself. And as Registered Nurse, mmc88121, pointed out in her comment: “if you read the entire article, you find that most of the people went to a Pharmaceutical Company's website because of their on-line advertisements. The Pharmaceutical Companies are changing their strategies so they can market to consumers even more directly than they do now.”

That, unfortunately, is not such great news.

I am currently researching this very topic for an upcoming article for my blog/website, www.honestmedicine.com. The preliminary results of my research are leading me to the unfortunate conclusion that much of the information people are finding through their online research has a decidedly pharmaceutical bias.

Why do I say this? While people are researching their medical conditions online, when they are not going to heavily advertised websites (such as the pharmaceutical websites mentioned in the article you cited), they are most often consulting websites that have been highly tauted in the press and on other websites.

For instance, a recent “Chicago Tribune” article, entitled “Doctors, patients just don't click over Googling” (http://301url.com/googling), in which I was quoted, makes the interesting point that doctors, while they may do online research themselves, often resent it when patients also Google.

However, after making this (to me) troubling point, the article goes on to state: “To make the most of the Internet, try to stick with reliable sites, and remember that Google isn't the only game in town.” (In this case, “Google” seems to refer to researching without benefit of “expert” guidance.)

The Tribune article then refers us to a total of 13 “most useful” websites, cumulatively recommended by the Medical Library Association’s website and the University of Michigan’s medical librarian. Most of the 13 are “household-name” websites – for instance, the American Academy of Family Physicians (familydoctor.org) and the Merck Manual of Medical Information (merckhomeedition.com), to name just two.

A little research reveals that some, if not all, of these websites and organizations, have troubling financial ties to Big Pharma. While it’s obvious whose money is solidly behind the Merck Manual, a quick trip to Google reveals some less widely known information about the prestigious professional group.

The most recent AAFP Foundation’s 2004 annual report (http://www.aafpfoundation.org/PreBuilt/reports/2004AR.pdf ) lists the foundation’s donors, with the pharmaceutical giants leading the parade: Schering-Plough, the only Platinum Benefactor, at $50,000+; seven Gold Benefactors, all from Big Pharma, each gave $25K - $49,999; Silver Benefactors, $10K - $24,999 each; Bronze Benefactors, $5K -$9999 each; and just plain “Benefactors,” under $5K each.

Interestingly, of all 47 of the companies listed that gave from $5000 to over $50,000, a full 45 are from Big Pharma! The only two non-pharmaceutical donors are the National Dairy Council and the Chlorine Chemistry Council (a trade association for the chemical/pesticide industries). Also not surprising, the smaller benefactors, those who gave under $5000, are more evenly divided between Pharma and non-Pharma.

And what about the University of Michigan, whose librarian was consulted for this article? Again, not surprisingly, a quick search of the Integrity in Science Database (http://www.cspinet.org/cgi-bin/integrity.cgi) reveals that 92 of this prestigious university’s faculty get research grants from large corporations, including medical research companies and/or Big Pharma.

So, is the public (or doctors, for that matter) actually “researching” at all? I am not so sure.

Thanks for making people more aware!

Julia Schopick

Http://www.honestmedicine.typepad.com

re: The Top 13 Health Conditions Searched For The Most on the Internet

andrewlee — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 05:51:30 GMT

Interestingly aside from contraception, all are diet related....

re: The Top 13 Health Conditions Searched For The Most on the Internet

mmc88121 — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 18:02:27 GMT

It is good that more people are turning to the internet for information. However, if you read the entire article, you find that most of the people went to a Pharmaceutical Company's website because of their on-line advertisments. The Pharmaceutical Companies are changing their strategies so they can market to consumers even more directly than they do now.

mmc88121