Five strategies for finding better health info online

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1) Do a better search:

Bookmark sites that are affiliated with trusted sources—that way, you know the articles are well researched and up-to-date.

2) Avoid doing broad searches:

Google “knee pain” and you’ll get about 30 million results. “The drawback of a general search, whether you need quick help for a burn on your hand or more insight into a just-diagnosed allergy, is you get a mix of information, some of which could be inaccurate or irrelevant,” says Lisa Gualtieri, an assistant professor at Tufts University School of Medicine, who specializes in tech and health.

3) Set up e-subscriptions:
“We’re seeing an evolution from patients searching for information online to information finding patients,” says Dr. Bryan Vartabedian, a Houston doctor who writes 33charts.com.

4) Sign up for Google Alerts:

Sign up for a Google Alert (http://www.google.com/alerts) on any topic, and an email with links will show up daily, weekly, or as new content is available (your choice). You can also pick the media sources, like news outlets or videos. Be sure to click on “only the best results.”

5) Read right to the end:
Lists of symptoms that ran from general to specific (and vice versa) were more likely to make healthy people think they were at higher risk for cancer, compared with lists that mixed the order of general symptoms (like fatigue) and illness-specific signs, finds a recent study in Psychological Science. Order varies by site, so read it all.

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