Wikipedia articles on diseases are not good advice. When it comes to health, it is better to trust your doctor. Dr. Robert Hasty, from the Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine in North Carolina, USA, recommends taking the health information available on Wikipedia, the online participatory encyclopedia, with the utmost caution. He justifies his warning in a study published in the specialized journal the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. The researcher compared for various pathologies such as cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, depression and diabetes, articles from well-known medical journals with Wikpedia articles. Verdict: Almost nine out of 10 Wikipedia articles contain errors. For Dr. Hasty, the online encyclopedia, the sixth most visited website in the world, lacks verification and scientific validation.
Wikipedia is not a surrogate doctor
“Wikipedia is certainly a useful tool for general research, but it should not be used by patients as a primary source of information since its articles do not undergo the same validation process by the scientific community, difference from articles published in medical journals”.
Before relying on the “lights” of the Wikipedia community, the author of the study recommends seeking advice from his doctor, a reliable source. “It’s the best resource patients worried about their health can have,” he said.
Remember, however, that patients are not the only ones looking for health information on the Internet. According to the US survey, 70% of doctors and medical students use the tool. Google’s search engine is also popular with GPs, a study published last year found: 96% of them would go to the search engine to find out about pathologies… during consultations.
And you, do you often use Wikipedia to search for health information? Express yourself on the forum!
