This paper investigates the individual characteristics of consumers who use anecdotal healthcareinformation available on the Internet. Secondary analysis of the data from the preliminary release of thePew Internet & American Life Project’s September 2012 Health Tracking Survey informed thisinvestigation. The dependent variable was the use of anecdotal healthcare information available on theInternet. The independent variables included demographics, quality of life, health status and the use ofpublic report cards. Public report cards include performance data provided by federal agencies onhealthcare providers, nursing homes, and hospitals to inform healthcare consumers on the variability ofhealthcare quality. A logistic model was developed to assess the characteristics of anecdotal informationusers. The analysis found that age, gender, educational level and health status were significant predictors ofa consumer’s use of anecdotal information available on the Internet. This study also found that healthcareconsumers who use public report information are highly likely to look at anecdotal information on theInternet. Because of comprehension issues related to public reports, consumers may give more weight toanecdotal information found online, a situation that is well documented. Such anecdotal information canpotentially jeopardize the utility of reports generated by Federal entities, as it potentially distracts consumerattention from more reliable measures of quality. Accordingly, this paper calls for further investigation toidentify effective ways to communicate the high variability of the accuracy of anecdotal informationavailable on the Internet.
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