WebMD
If you use WebMD as your only source, and you don't have a reliable physician that you can talk to and address your concerns, I think that's where the problem is. That's where we build a lot of anxiety for no reason - Indira Gautam MD
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The truth about WebMD, a hypochondriac's nightmare and Big Pharma's dream
WebMD is the most popular source of health information in the US, and is likely to dominate your Google search results for almost any medical question you have. According to its editorial policy, WebMD promises to empower patients and health professionals with "objective, trustworthy, and accurate health information."
But is WebMD actually trustworthy?
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Are Medical Websites, Like WebMD, Healthful?
The internet has democratized medical knowledge, allowing people to learn about their symptoms and conditions without leaving their couch. But have medical websites let people draw conclusions about their health without really understanding what they’re reading? Do they inform patients so they can have better expectations when they see a doctor, or do they do more harm than good?
Mayo Clinic vs. WebMD: Another Perspective
Both WebMD and the Mayo Clinic’s site are ad-supported, including pharma ads; without a much more in-depth investigation, I wouldn’t recommend one over the other for every search. Instead, it’s generally best to rely on multiple sources — not block them.
MD vs WebMD: Does Online Health Info Help or Hurt?
Sure, the ubiquity of Internet access in modern society has changed the way Americans seek out information, in general. But in the case of healthcare, the widespread online availability of medical information is both helpful and troubling.
Online Symptom Checkers Are Often Wrong (Phew)
It's probably not cancer: Looking up conditions on sites like WebMD has inconsistent results.
OPINION: Relying on WebMD is detrimental to your health
Websites like WebMD give doctors access to a wealth of information that can help them diagnose a variety of illnesses using the information online that was previously limited to hard-to-reach specialists, according to Mashable. That same information, though, is hazardous in the hands of patients that don’t fully understand it.
WebMD Knows Best?
How the digital era is changing the way we make medical decisions.
WebMD: Good or Bad Medicine?
What do you do when you are feeling bad but don't want to take the time to wait in a doctor's office? Many people resort to the Internet, where medical sites dispense advice with just a few strokes of the computer keyboard. One of the most well-known sites is WebMD, offering everything from a "symptomchecker" to info about drugs and supplements to healthy living tips.
WebMD: Helpful or Harmful?
Personally, I use WebMD if I feel like there’s something wrong that I can’t explain, but I never jump to any conclusions or convince myself that it’s anything too serious. The Symptom Checker can be a helpful tool, but only if you take it with a grain of salt and follow up with an actual doctor’s diagnosis.
WebMD: The Pros and Cons
So it turns out the internet isn’t just for looking at pictures of cats (who knew?), you can also use it to diagnose your medical maladies. WebMD is one of numerous online diagnosis sites that have popped up in the last few years.
Why is WebMD so awful?
WebMD—and its imitators—are terrible. Often the first stop for health questions, WebMD bombards you with vague, unhelpful articles strewn with garish pharmaceutical ads—an ocean of "content" without substance. And I'm not just some crank with an ax to grind—satisfaction with online health information is incredibly low, around 38%. What's more, this satisfaction has been very stable over time—one study found that users in 2008 were just as unhappy with health information as they were in 2017!
Resources
6 Reasons Your Doctor Wants You To Stop Using WebMD
Despite being the internet's premier medical encyclopedia of accumulated knowledge and a portal for virtual diagnoses, WebMD often serves as a major scourge to your MD's profession, complicating the already byzantine world of medicine. Right now, their symptom-checking model claims I have no less than 42 possible ailments, diseases, and illnesses. A majority of them being life-threatening.
