Health: an Italian three inquires on the web - Panorama

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Editorial

Over a third of Italians use the web and new media to get information about their health . They say the results of a search of the Observatory of Alkemy, a company active in digital consultancy in Italy, which he photographed the world of the drug on the web, collecting and aggregating data CENSIS Use Google Trends and Google Forrester.
In particular, shows that patients seeking information, comments and exchanges of experience: If your primary care physician remains the primary source for obtaining medical information (56%), the Internet is used (11%) most of the pharmacist (4%), primarily to obtain clarification of the disease (90%), on the facilities to be contacted (59%) and to discuss with other users.

services are stated on the web: next to Reservations of visits and tests (15%), 3% of Italians will buy drugs (data CENSIS 2012). The doctors make extensive use of the digital channel: data from Google tell how frequent is the use of the web by professionals for further information relating to patients, scientific updates and information about pharmaceutical products.

But after talking with a pharmaceutical representative (34%), after seeing the promotion of a drug and to obtain data on adverse drug reactions (61%). The most frequent activity remains, however, to exchange information on diseases and drugs: in America, in particular, according to the analysis of Alkemy (data Forrester 2011), more than 50% of the sale of medicines is influenced by information gathered online 7% of the purchases is done on the web.

In this context, blogs and search engines become a sort of virtual waiting rooms where patients are confronted with other users on media channels looking for answers to their medical conditions. In particular, according to research by Pfizer, every day are more ‘than 500 groups that meet just to talk about diabetes, 36 thousand videos dedicated to surgery, 170 000 patients enrolled in Social Network specialist who talk about their chronic condition and possible treatments.