Free Ask a Doctor Online Services Can Save Lives with Both Expert and No...( Consumers ar...),Health

Consumers are not just looking to doctors for health information online. A new poll of over 4,800 health consumers from eHealthForum.com reveals that consumers value BOTH doctor and patient sources. In fact, website visitors prefer to rely on patient-only or patient-doctor opinion 63% of the time. Ask a Doctor programs must integrate both perspectives to gain critical audience trust in order to provide effective, timely and potentially life-saving services.

Coral Springs, FL (PRWEB) June 16, 2009 -- The latest poll results from eHealth Forum, a worldwide leader of Health 2.0 websites for medical questions, shows that people are clearly taking a dual approach to dealing with their medical and health issues.

The poll revealed that, out of 4,889 respondents, more than half prefer to consult with both a doctor and other patients about health conditions. Although medical experts or specialists remain a trusted source of information (more than one third of respondents prefer doctor-only input), patients prefer not to rely on doctor-only opinions 63% of the time. In fact, consulting other patients experiencing similar health issues seems highly important for people learning about medical conditions.