Monitoring Trends of Self-diagnosis in New York City Emergency Departments

Abstract

Americans are increasingly accessing the internet for health information, and 35% of patients have used the internet to self-diagnose a condition. This analysis examines NYC Emergency Department syndromic surveillance chief complaints to determine if there is an increasing trend in self-diagnosis, and to characterize the types of patients who are most likely to self-diagnose. In addition, this study investigates the health impact of self-diagnosis by comparing hospital admission rates, a proxy for the severity of patient illness upon arrival at the hospital, among patients who self-diagnose versus those who do not.