THE ACCURACY OF MEDICAL INFORMATION’S ON THE INTERNET

Abstract

Purpose: To check the accuracy of the Internet-derived medical information.

Materials and Method: We tested the validity of randomly chosen Internet-derived statements concerning four common orthopaedics problems. Two-hundred statements were gleaned by two nonmedical persons from 30 chosen websites, after employing a common search engine. Fifty statements were derived on each of four separate topics (knee osteoarthritis, hip osteoarthritis, low back pain, and osteoporosis). Five residents in orthopaedic surgery were then asked, to independently rank the accuracy of these statements using a five point rating scale with 1 being strongly disagree to 5 being strongly agree with the statement. Means were then obtained for each question and ranked on validity with > 4 being very valid, > 3 being somewhat valid and < 3 being invalid.

Results: Overall score for the 200 statements was 3.81 with 61% deemed very valid, 20% deemed somewhat valid and 19% deemed invalid. For knee osteoarthritis, the overall score was 3.63 with 63% being very valid, 18% being somewhat valid and 19% being deemed invalid. For hip osteoarthritis, the overall score was 3.75 with 58% being very valid, 21% being somewhat valid and 19% deemed invalid. For low back pain, the overall score was 3.91 with 48% being very valid, 36% being somewhat valid and 16% deemed invalid. For osteoporosis, the overall score was 3.96 with 59% being very valid, 18% being somewhat valid and 23% deemed invalid.

Conclusion: Approximately 20% of medical information found on the Internet is misleading and, invalid. Patients and physicians who use the Internet to access health information, should be aware of these inaccuracies and better seek advice from reliable medical web sites of universities.