Pixels and Patients: How Today's Consumers Are Using the Internet to Manage Their Health

Theoretical Background and research questions/hypothesis:  With the advent of the Internet, consumers have gained unprecedented access to a wealth of information online, growing the demand for readily-available health and pharmaceutical information and impacting the way consumers make healthcare decisions. To better understand the growth in this sector over the past few years and where it is headed, comScore Vice President of Health and Pharmaceutical Marketing Solutions John Mangano will give a presentation analyzing the key dynamics shaping the health industry online.

Methods:  This presentation will showcase the growth in online health information consumption over the past few years across search, video, and mobile using comScore’s proprietary audience measurement tools. This presentation will also highlight attitudinal and behavioral data from surveys and confidentially-measured opt-in panels of patients and physicians, to provide insight into the use of the Internet for health-related activities from the perspective of various audiences.

Results:  Some key questions this presentation will answer include:

• What is the size of the online health audience?
• What general categories of information do most online health consumers search for?
• What types of websites did most online health consumers use to find health information?
• Are there differences in online health-related behavior between men and women?
• What devices do consumers use to search for online health information?
• How has mobile health information consumption grown in the past year?
• How are tablets used for health research and communication with other patients?
• How much of a concern is privacy for online health information consumers?

Conclusions:  As connected devices such as smartphones and tablets enable users to go online with even greater freedom, the online health category is poised for continued growth. Online health, currently one of the fastest growing categories for online and mobile usage, will likely see greater popularity in the year to come among consumers who have never before had as much access to health information to manage their care with.

Implications for research and/or practice:  Health marketers, pharmaceutical marketers, policy makers, educators, and other industry players will continue to see growth in the online and mobile space as consumers become more tech-savvy about managing their daily affairs, including their health. To reach these consumers most effectively, it is important to understand how they are using the Internet to research health options and make decisions.