Less than half of US consumers watch TV live, and people who have acne and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely than those with other medical conditions to watch streaming or downloaded TV programs online, according to the Cybercitizen Health v8.0 consumer study from Manhattan Research.

Patients with eczema, allergies and bipolar disorder are also more likely than others to watch internet television, the research found.

“Digital video recording, faster broadband speeds, and an increase in rich media content have transformed the way that consumers view their news and entertainment,” said Meredith Abreu Ressi, VP of research at Manhattan Research. “With television networks partnering with video-sharing websites like YouTube and Hulu and DVR adoption increasing, the consumer is in control.”

Health Information Online

The study also found that more than 145 million US adults use the internet to research health information, and the internet has surpassed doctors for online health information health and medical information over the past year. According to the study, this trend represents a change in consumer behavior from previous years, as doctors have traditionally been the top source of health information.

“Though doctors remain an essential part of an individual’s health management, consumers are increasingly comfortable using the internet as a research tool for condition and treatment information,” said Ressi. “As healthcare coverage – and even routine visits to the doctor – becomes less affordable to many Americans, the internet has emerged as a first line of defense for consumers seeking to manage their healthcare independently.”

The number of consumers searching for pharmaceutical information online has increased to 95 million, up 16% from last year, as has the number of US adults who use their cell phones and PDA/smartphones to look up health information on the web, which is estimated at 10 million.

Web 2.0 Gives Way to Health 2.0

A growing number of consumers – especially cancer and fibromyalgia patients – are using social media for health and medical purposes. Many patients and caregivers have become comfortable seeking advice and sharing treatment experiences and connecting with others dealing with similar conditions.

Popular activities include visiting health-related message boards, reading and contributing to health blogs, posting health content online, and using online patient support groups. Also, a growing number of patients are rating prescription drugs and treatments on sites like iGuard.org, DailyStrength.org, and WebMD.

About the survey: The Cybercitizen Health v8.0 consumer study focused on how consumers use media and technology for health information the impact on treatment and product decisions. It was fielded in Q3 2008 among 8,714 US adults (age 18+).

Almost three-quarters of US adults are worried about increasing health insurance/care costs and primarily blame insurance and drug companies, according to a recent Harris Interactive/HealthDay survey.

Health Cost Worries are High
When asked how worried, if at all, they are about having to pay more for healthcare and/or health insurance, 27% of respondents said they are “extremely worried.” Another 17% are “very worried” and 27% are “somewhat worried.” All told, a combined 71% of respondents have some level of worry about health care and health insurance costs going up.

Another 15% of respondents are “not too worried” while only 8% are “not at all worried.” Ten percent do not have or do not pay for health care/health insurance costs.

Private Industry Seen as Cause
Despite recent highly publicized debate on the potential pros and cons of increased government involvement in health insurance, a majority of respondents lay the blame for rising health insurance premiums on private companies.

Increased profits of health insurance and drug companies were each blamed by 58% of respondents as a main reason for rising premiums (more than one response to this question was allowed). Higher prices charged by hospitals followed with blame assigned by 51% of respondents.

The legal industry came in for indirect blame by 44% of respondents, who cited increased tests, treatments and procedures ordered by doctors due to fear of malpractice. Increased marketing and advertising spending by drug companies was mentioned by 42% of respondents.

The most popular patient-associated reason for higher health insurance premiums was the increased demand for healthcare due to the aging population, selected by 41% of respondents. Other patient-associated reasons included the increasing number of overweight/obese people (37%), coverage of medical care expenses for young people with no insurance (28%), and increased usage of medical services by patients (18%). About one-third (30%) of respondents cited increased government regulation of health care.

Insurers, Drug Companies Take Heat
When asked to select specific people and groups responsible for increased health insurance/care costs, 71% of respondents chose insurance companies and 63% chose drug companies (more than one response to this question was allowed). No other person or group received more than a 50% rating; hospitals came in third with 42% of respondents holding them responsible. Politicians came in for some blame with Congress (35%), President Obama (21%) and President Bush (19%) all being held responsible by one-fifth or more of respondents.

One-Quarter of Americans Expected Higher Medical Bills in Feb.
About one-quarter of American adults expected to spend the same or more medical bills and healthcare in February 2010 as they did in January 2010, according to the January 2010American Express Spending & Saving Tracker.

Out of the 49% of the general US population who said they would spend the same or more money in the next 30 days, 49% said they would spend the same or more money on medical bills and healthcare. This means that about one-quarter of the entire general US population expected to spend the same or more on medical bills and healthcare in February 2010 as in January 2010. Another 50% of the portion saying they would spend the same or more money indicated they would spend the same or more on the related category of child and elder care.

About the Survey: This survey was conducted online within the US March 11-15, 2010 among 2,389 adults aged 18 and older. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

Americans who look for for health and medical information online turn to search engines two-thirds of the time when they are seeking answers, indicating that internet search is an increasingly important factor in Americans’ treatment decision process, according to a study by Manhattan Research.

The internet – rather than healthcare professionals – is by far online US households’ main source for healthcare information, and women more than men seek such information online, according to a recent Burst Media survey.

Burst surveyed some 3,700 web users 18 years and older on how they research health information – including prescription drugs and over-the-counter (OTC) remedies.

The following are among the findings of the survey:

• Online health information is sought out by all age segments:
  • 78.1% of respondents use the internet to gather health information.
  • Women more than men go online for health info – 83.5% vs. 72.4%.
  • 90.1% of women age 25-34 search for health information online.
  • More than three-quarters of those 65 years and older say they go online for health information.

• Young adults refer to online health info most often:
  • 40.8% of respondents age18-34 search online for health information at least once a week
  • 29.0% of respondents 35 years and older do so.
• Users go online before and after visits to doctor:
  • 33.9% of respondents research health topics online before visiting a medical professional.
  • Women 25-34 are most likely (55.4%) to do so.
  • 43.5% of respondents use the internet after a medical visit to research topics discussed during the visit.
  • Women are more likely than men to do further online research: 50.8% vs. 35.5%.
• The internet, more than the family doctor, is the primary source of health info:
  • 45.2% of respondents say the internet is the primary source of health information
  • 23.0% cite health professionals, and 12.9% cite friends and family.
  • Women more than men use the internet as their primary household health resource: 49.9% vs. 40.3%.
  • Men more than women cite health professionals: 25.8% vs. 20.4%.

• Users click on drug ads:
  • 23.5% of respondents say they have clicked on a prescription or OTC drug/remedy ad
  • 24.6% of women and 22.3% of men say they have done so.
  • The proportion of those who have click on ads is fairly consistent among the age segments, with the highest percentage – 27.2% – among respondents age 55+.
• Healthcare workers, family/friends top info sources:
  • 40.4% cited healthcare professionals as the top source for prescription and OTC drug/remedy information.
  • 35.3% cited family and friends.
  • 29.6% cited websites.
  • 29.3% pointed to pharmacists.
  • 26.1% said TV and print ads
  • Other sources: news stories (25.2%), internet advertising (18.6%) and product pamphlets/brochures (17.4%).

Burst provides more findings from the study, here.

Note: The Hitwise data featured is based on US market share of visits as defined by the IAB, which is the percentage of online traffic to the domain or category, from the Hitwise sample of 10 million US internet users. Hitwise measures more than 1 million unique websites on a daily basis, including sub-domains of larger websites. Hitwise categorizes websites into industries on the basis of subject matter and content, as well as market orientation and competitive context. The market share of visits percentage does not include traffic for all sub-domains of certain websites that could be reported on separately.

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