Nearly 80% of French people would make their own diagnosis online to decide whether they need to see a health professional or not. Alain Lorenzo, general practitioner and professor of general medicine, gives us his opinion on these new habits.
- 77% of French people look up their symptoms online to establish a self-diagnosis before going to see their doctor.
- A habit that generates anxiety but opens new spaces for communication with doctors.
According to a new poll published by Lensstore.co.uk, 77% of French people look up their symptoms online to establish a self-diagnosis before going to see their doctor. A very marked trend among the youngest: more than one in five individuals aged 16 to 34 will always use the Internet to find the cause of their symptoms, compared to only one in ten among those aged between 45 and 54.
“Some Anxiety”
People research the meaning of their symptoms online mainly to be aware of potential problems before going to see a doctor, although 30% of respondents say they do so simply because they don’t like going to see a doctor.
“It’s actually a habit of my patients that I see during my consultations. They come with a certain amount of knowledge gleaned from the Internet. When they are false or partly inaccurate, it is then necessary to dismantle the representations of the patients”, confirms general practitioner and teacher Alain Lorenzo. “This research certainly generates some anxiety,” he adds.
“Building a communication space”
The survey results show that 23% of French people worry about their health at least once a week. More than 30% of respondents believe that researching their health on the Internet makes them anxious, and 20% see it as having a negative impact on their mental health.
“But not everything is negative, far from it”, continues Alain Lorenzo. “The knowledge acquired makes it possible to build a much larger space of communication with patients. This creates debate, the basis of the consultation is richer than before”, says the doctor, who has not seen an increase in the phenomenon since the start of the coronavirus epidemic.
“What is far more concerning is the proliferation of merchant sites and apps that claim to deliver medical diagnosis without actual consultation. This is an outrageous practice, which puts patients at risk,” deplores Alain Lorenzo. According to the latest estimates, 17% of French people suffer from a health problem that has not been diagnosed.
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