You reach for your phone, and you Google it. If you can’t find the answer in a few minutes, you then ask your friends on Facebook or Twitter. I know, I do it too! I mean, it is so much more convenient to sit on the couch and search on my phone than it is to call my doctor’s office and wait for someone to call me back. Plus, I actually enjoy hearing stories from my friends who might have maybe suffered from the same thing…ok, not really. Asking my friends on Facebook is the opposite of helpful. Most of them say things like, “yeah that sounds bad, call your doctor.” Um, thanks?
Seriously though, don’t you do the same thing?
In fact, most people do reach for their cell phone or tablet first when they are sick. I am not alone. Neither are you. Everyone does it. According to the Pew Research Center, one in three cell phone owner have used their phone to access health information. That is why the Aetna Foundation gave more than $1.2 million in grants to fund digital health technology. These amazing grants will be given to 23 organizations in 13 states.
In fact, some of the money will be given to hospitals to fund a K-12 nutrition/health curriculum and some will fund a two-way faith-based text messaging campaign targeted to African American women. Very diverse interests but the same goal – increase the use of technology in health care directly aimed at the users. When you’re in need of services like Online prescription, such technology can help make that possible.
Isn’t that awesome?
And seriously, when you are your kids are sick, don’t you reach for your phone? (And not to call your doctor). When was the last time you did this? I know my Facebook feed always has at least one, “I’m sick, should I call the doctor” or “what is this rash” post every day.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Aetna Foundation.
Man I am guilty of searching Dr Google when we are sick. It was certainly helpful when my oldest started having seizures at 5 1/2 months. Glad to see that companies recognize is and are working to get good info out there.
I think searching online CAN be helpful. I am sorry to hear your oldest had seizures so young! That must have been terrifying!
I agree it can be helpful – it’s where I became informed and empowered on some of my son’s troubling health issues. However, you do have to be careful about what the source is because there is also a lot of misinformation out there. Also, there is so much conflicting info that it can be incredibly confusing & overwhelming.
Ha! Soooo me. I cut my hand cooking one evening and had it on fb before the bleeding had even stopped. I was hoping for ER suggestions, didn’t even go to any that had been suggested.
When I get sick, I don’t call the doctor, I research vitamin deficiencies or check the hours of operation of the juice place down the street.
My husband thinks I’m nuts. I wasn’t always this way. I used to always go to the doctor right away. I used to get sinus infections frequently when I worked at a preschool. One year, I had three severe sinus infections (lasted 3 weeks and left me with subsequent mild hearing loss) dismissed as viral and to be treated by drinking water and resting; doc still wanted his $40 copay… I gave up on doctors after that. Holistic treatments and improving the way I eat have decreased my time being ill dramatically. Doctors aren’t useful to me. Shoot, even my lacerated hand was stitched up by a nurse practitioner.
I’m going to quit now, I feel a tirade coming on.
I might change my mind someday if I come down with something really bad, but even then, I’ll probably get second opinions from nutritionists and holistic providers.
That’s one grumpy looking avatar! How do I change that?
LOL!!! Aimee you can go to http://www.Gravatar.com and create an account with the email you just used to comment with. Then upload a pic to your gravatar account and it will automatically change here.
Yep, that’s me. Though google can be scary too.
I am horrible at adki dr.google!
I have to stop too because I always freak myself out and convince myself it’s worse than it really is.
Dr. Google gets me in a whole lotta trouble, a whole lotta the time. I’ve diagnosed myself with some things that make my doctors want to seek an order to prevent me from ever using the internet again. Turns out that my foot was blue because the new socks I bought had bled all over them, and I wasn’t about to loose an appendage because I was suffering from some rare malady.
I’m glad Aetna is reaching out this way in order to partner with the internet to increase digital health technology as well as the other really cool programs that are being funded from these grants.
Yep, and then I always worry that I’m not going to a reliable place for info. This is good to know this resource is there.
Whatever most of us can to avoid going to the doctor.
My doctor whips out his phone and checks the internet anyway. I might as well save some time. 😉
Very interesting post, very true too.
I sometimes wonder what I did before the Internet, smartphones, and social media. 🙂 I always look up symptoms.
Dr. Google will kill you for a sore toe in a heartbeat! The Aetna Foundation seems like a great resource!
I go on google. I admit it. Its a scary place.
Guilty. But usually I go searching Webmd and google images to see if I can figure it out first.
I totally reach for my phone the moment I don’t feel good. Then I freak myself out by googling info