Abstract
SummaryTime and again, it is discussed that in medical practices, the number of patients who develop health anxieties due to extensive health information searches on the Internet is increasing. The objective of this study is to explore and describe general practitioners’ experiences and attitudes towards cyberchondria patients as well as strategies to stabilize affected patients. Following a qualitative approach, oral personal semi-standardized interviews with general practitioners (N = 38) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, were conducted in 2019. In the course of a content analysis, one can see that most interviewees see the emergence of Internet-related health anxieties as an increasing problem in everyday care. Affected patients not only show marked levels of doubt and nervousness as well as hypersensitivity to their own state of health, but also low confidence in the physician. In addition to compliance-related difficulties, the high need for advice and the demand for further diagnostics are regarded as major problems. Various approaches were identified by which general practitioners respond to unsettled patients (more consultation time, recommendation of reputable websites, information double-checking, expanded history questionnaire, additional psychosocial training).Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s10354-020-00777-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Today, many people use the Internet to get various information about health and illness issues [1,2,3,4]
This has an impact on the physician–patient relationship: When it comes to health issues, the doctor is no longer the first point of contact, since a search engine is increasingly being called up first
The results show that general practitioners have begun to adjust to the phenomenon of cyberchondria and to develop strategies for dealing with that new challenge in everyday practice
Summary
Many people use the Internet to get various information about health and illness issues [1,2,3,4]. The spectrum ranges from search engines to large health portals or special forums where one can interact with other users or even (medical) experts [5,6,7]. This has an impact on the physician–patient relationship: When it comes to health issues, the doctor is no longer the first point of contact, since a search engine is increasingly being called up first. Studies show that patients who do Internet research for preparation and follow-up in addition to medical consultations are better informed and are more health conscious. Under certain circumstances, extensive research on the Internet can reinforce or trigger health anxieties that can become permanently entrenched in the long run
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