The Web has been a success as a health information repository.

The number of Websites with health information from insurers, pharmaceutical companies, and patient and doctor communities has grown for years. Now it appears the number of adult Internet

users in the US who look for that health information has plateaued. Harris Interactive, which has tracked online health information research for years, reported a slight dip in the number of Internet users who said they had made such searches this year. The polling company said that 150 million US adults (81% of Internet users) looked online for health info in 2008, down from 160 million who did so in 2007. Harris said that changes in its survey methodology could account for the dip, but its overall finding was that growth in the percentage of adult Internet users who looked for health information online had leveled off.

Respondents were largely credulous about the health information they found online: 86% of online health searchers said the information they located on the Internet was reliable. Online health searchers visit a mix of community and professional medical sites for their information, according to Hitwise. The Web traffic measurement company said that WebMD led the way with searchers, accounting for nearly 11% of all visits to health information sites in March 2008. Agencies and brands from all verticals rely on eMarketer Total Access for analysis and data.

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Article Source: www.emarketer.com