Title:
For Many People, First the Doctor's Office, Then the
Web
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Technology Report.
See text below
Text:
A new survey finds that more than eighty percent of
Internet users in the United States search for
health information online. The survey is from the
Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life
Project and the California HealthCare Foundation.
Susannah Fox from the Pew Internet Project says
doctors are still the main source of health
information. But the survey found that searching
online is one of the leading ways that people look
for a second opinion. She said people are
fact-checking what they have heard from a doctor.
However, people are still very likely to turn to a
health professional when they are planning a
treatment.Forty-four percent of people are actually
looking for doctors or other providers when they
search for health information online. Another
finding of the survey: Two-thirds of Internet users
look online for information about a specific disease
or medical condition. The Internet has also become
an important source of emotional support for people
with health problems. Susannah Fox says one in five
Internet users has gone online to find other people
who have the same condition. She said even more
people with serious or rare diseases go online to
find other people who share their health concerns. A
disease is considered rare if it affects fewer than
two hundred thousand people worldwide. The rise of
social networking has made it easier for people with
rare diseases to connect with each other and feel
less alone. Social networking is also changing the
way some doctors and patients communicate with each
other. Dr. Jeff Livingston operates a medical center
for women in Irving, Texas. His office uses
password-protected software to share information
with patients. He says they provide patients full
access to their medical care. Dr. Livingston says
the software has increased efficiency, reduced costs
and improved relations with patients. He says: "It
has just revolutionized the way we do health care."
His medical center also has a Facebook page, a
MySpace page and a Twitter feed.For VOA Special
English, I'm Carolyn Presutti. We would like to hear
your stories about going online to search for health
information. There's a lot of information out there.
How do you know if you can trust what you find? You
can post your comments on our website,
voaspecialenglish.com.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
