An Investigation of the Factors that Predict a Healthcare Consumer’s Use of Anecdotal Healthcare Information Available on the Internet

Abstract

This paper investigates the individual characteristics of consumers who use anecdotal healthcare information available on the Internet. Secondary analysis of the data from the preliminary release of the Pew Internet & American Life Project’s September 2012 Health Tracking Survey informed this investigation. The dependent variable was the use of anecdotal healthcare information available on the Internet. The independent variables included demographics, quality of life, health status and the use of public report cards. Public report cards include performance data provided by federal agencies on healthcare providers, nursing homes, and hospitals to inform healthcare consumers on the variability of healthcare quality. A logistic model was developed to assess the characteristics of anecdotal information users. The analysis found that age, gender, educational level and health status were significant predictors of a consumer’s use of anecdotal information available on the Internet. This study also found that healthcare consumers who use public report information are highly likely to look at anecdotal information on the Internet. Because of comprehension issues related to public reports, consumers may give more weight to anecdotal information found online, a situation that is well documented. Such anecdotal information can potentially jeopardize the utility of reports generated by Federal entities, as it potentially distracts consumer attention from more reliable measures of quality. Accordingly, this paper calls for further investigation to identify effective ways to communicate the high variability of the accuracy of anecdotal information available on the Internet.