The DOI matches its Crossref record; 39 of the 42 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Internet Health Information Seeking and the Patient-Physician Relationship: A Systematic Review
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: With online health information becoming increasingly popular among patients, concerns have been raised about the impact of patients' Internet health information-seeking behavior on their relationship with physicians. Therefore, it is pertinent to understand the influence of online health information on the patient-physician relationship. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to systematically review existing research on patients' Internet health information seeking and its influence on the patient-physician relationship. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed and key medical informatics, information systems, and communication science journals covering the period of 2000 to 2015. Empirical articles that were in English were included. We analyzed the content covering themes in 2 broad categories: factors affecting patients' discussion of online findings during consultations and implications for the patient-physician relationship. RESULTS: We identified 18 articles that met the inclusion criteria and the quality requirement for the review. The articles revealed barriers, facilitators, and demographic factors that influence patients' disclosure of online health information during consultations and the different mechanisms patients use to reveal these findings. Our review also showed the mechanisms in which online information could influence patients' relationship with their physicians. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this review contribute to the understanding of the patient-physician relationship of Internet-informed patients. Our main findings show that Internet health information seeking can improve the patient-physician relationship depending on whether the patient discusses the information with the physician and on their prior relationship. As patients have better access to health information through the Internet and expect to be more engaged in health decision making, traditional models of the patient-provider relationship and communication strategies must be revisited to adapt to this changing demographic.
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“Healthcare professionals have mixed views in relation to patients resorting to the internet [114] and mobile apps [115], with reservations about the sources and accuracy of information, yet highlighting that active patient engagement can support a positive patient-physician interaction [116,117].”
From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Internet of Things: A Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as [116]
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Four Models of the Physician-Patient Relationship
Emanuel, E. J. (1992) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.1992.03480160079038 · Cited by 2,453
Health Information on the Internet
Berland, G. K., Elliott, M. N., Morales, L. S., Algazy, J. I., Kravitz, R. L., Broder, M. S., Kanouse, D. E., Muñoz, J. A., Puyol, J.-A., Lara, M., et al. (2001) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.285.20.2612 · Cited by 1,212
Medicine 2.0: Social Networking, Collaboration, Participation, Apomediation, and Openness
Eysenbach, G. (2008) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/jmir.1030 · Cited by 1,143
McMullan, M. (2006) · Patient Education and Counseling · doi:10.1016/j.pec.2005.10.006 · Cited by 1,106
How do patients evaluate and make use of online health information?
Sillence, E., Briggs, P., Harris, P. R., & Fishwick, L. (2007) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.01.012 · Cited by 676
The enduring and evolving nature of the patient–physician relationship
ROTER, D. L. (2000) · Patient Education and Counseling · doi:10.1016/s0738-3991(99)00086-5 · Cited by 532
Doctor in the house: the Internet as a source of lay health knowledge and the challenge to expertise
Hardey, M. (1999) · Sociology of Health & Illness · doi:10.1111/1467-9566.00185 · Cited by 522
Untangling the Web—The impact of Internet use on health care and the physician–patient relationship
Wald, H. S., Dube, C. E., & Anthony, D. C. (2007) · Patient Education and Counseling · doi:10.1016/j.pec.2007.05.016 · Cited by 485
The Impact of Health Information on the Internet on the Physician-Patient Relationship
Murray, E., Lo, B., Pollack, L. M., Donelan, K., Catania, J., White, M. S., Zapert, K., & Turner, R. (2003) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.163.14.1727 · Cited by 471
Broom, A. F. (2005) · Qualitative Health Research · doi:10.1177/1049732304272916 · Cited by 449
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3 of the 42 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
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- Davids, EL, 2014, African J Phys Health Educ Recreation Dance, 20, 228
- Russ, H, 2011, Isr Med Assoc J, 13, 220
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Public health and online misinformation: challenges and recommendations
Swire-Thompson, B., & Lazer, D. (2020) · Annual Review of Public Health · doi:10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040119-094127 · Cited by 1,170
Lecanemab: Appropriate Use Recommendations
Cummings, J., Apostolova, L., Rabinovici, G. D., Atri, A., Aisen, P., Greenberg, S., Hendrix, S., Selkoe, D., Weiner, M., Petersen, R. C., et al. (2023) · The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease · doi:10.14283/jpad.2023.30 · Cited by 961
Online Health Information Seeking Behavior: A Systematic Review
Jia, X., Pang, Y., & Liu, L. S. (2021) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare9121740 · Cited by 547
Kubb, C., & Foran, H. M. (2020) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/19985 · Cited by 262
Barrett, M., Boyne, J. J., Brandts, J., Rocca, H. B., Maesschalck, L. D., Wit, K. D., Dixon, L., Eurlings, C., Fitzsimons, D., Golubnitschaja, O., et al. (2019) · The EPMA Journal · doi:10.1007/s13167-019-00188-9 · Cited by 221
Metadata
- Authors
- Tan, S. S.-L., & Goonawardene, N.
- Affiliations
- National University of Singapore (SG)
- Singapore Management University (SG)
- Corresponding author
- Tan, Sharon Swee-Lin
- Venue
- Journal of Medical Internet Research
- Publisher
- JMIR Publications Inc.
- Published
- 2017-01-19
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- e9
- ISSN
- 1438-8871 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5290294
- OpenAlex
- W2576167606
- Cited by
- 1,101
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 102 · 2025: 123 · 2024: 139 · 2023: 145 · 2022: 155 · 2021: 166 · 2020: 114 · 2019: 100 · 2018: 45 · 2017: 10
- FWCI
- 12.94
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Journal of Medical Internet Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Singapore Management University Institutional Knowledge (InK) (Singapore Management University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Health Information Management › Electronic Health Records Systems
- Keywords
- online health information seeking, physician-patient relationship, patient-provider communication
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Physician-Patient Relations, Health Behavior, Internet, Information Seeking Behavior
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