Business
Where patients get their information
■ An occasional snapshot of current facts and trends in medicine.
Quick View. Posted Jan. 14, 2008
About 90% of respondents to a National Business Group on Health survey said they prefer to consult sources beyond the physician's office when faced with a decision on medical treatment.
The National Business Group on Health, which represents large employers on health issues, said 54% of respondents believed the complexity of medicine was no excuse to place blind trust in a physician to know what treatment is best for them.
While patients are not turning away from physicians in discussing their health, they are doing their own research as well, which is changing the doctor-patient conversation, said the group's president, Helen Darling. "Doctors are much more likely to talk about pros and cons," she said.
Source: National Business Group on Health survey of 1,558 workers. To participate, workers had to be between the ages of 22 and 69, covered by health insurance, and working for an employer with at least 2,000 employees.
