Although the number of “cyberchondriacs” — people who research health information online — is at an all-time high, those who are afflicted with chronic conditions are less likely to have Internet access, according to data from Pew.
A Harris poll also found that, while Internet access has remained stable in the last five years, the percentage of frequent health information searchers leaped in the past year. The mean number of monthly searches for health information is 6.0, with 17 percent looking 10 or more times in the last month. More than half of the searchers have discussed information they found online with their doctors or have searched online because of a discussion with their doctors.