Logging On for a Second (or Third) Opinion

(Sept 29) At least three-quarters of all Internet users look for health information online, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project; of those with a high-speed connection, 1 in 9 do health research on a typical day. And 75 percent of online patients with a chronic problem told the researchers that "their last health search affected a decision about how to treat an illness or condition," according to a Pew Report released last month, "The Engaged E-Patient Population." Reliance on the Internet is so prevalent, said the report's author, Susannah Fox, the associate director at Pew, that "Google is the de facto second opinion" for patients seeking further information after a diagnosis. But paging Dr. Google can lead patients to miss a rich lode of online resources that may not yield to a simple search. Sometimes just adding a word makes all the difference. Searching for the name of a certain cancer will bring up the Wikipedia entry and several information sites from major hospitals, drug companies and other providers. Add the word "community" to that search, Ms. Fox said, and "it's like falling into an alternate universe," filled with sites that connect patients.