How Reliable Is Online Medical Diagnosis, Really?

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the development of online medical consultation. While the volume of online medical inquiries has surged, outpatient visits at tertiary hospitals have dropped by more than half. So how reliable is online medical diagnosis, really? There are as yet no large-scale studies on internet-based diagnosis, but a recent study by a research team from Edith Cowan University (ECU), published in the Medical Journal of Australia, shows that the accuracy of online symptom-check systems is only about one-third.

The study analyzed 36 mobile app- or website-based symptom-check systems worldwide and found that the first diagnosis they produced was correct only 36% of the time, while the accuracy of the top three online results was 52%. The study also showed that, in terms of when to seek medical care and where to seek it, the accuracy of the systems' recommendations was 49%.

This study focused mainly on Australians. It showed that about 40% of Australians search for online health information to self-treat. It is estimated that Google handles about 70,000 health-related searches per minute, showing that many people are now conducting self-diagnosis and treatment online.

This is a study of online diagnosis covering most well-known online medical service platforms. With the further development of information technology, the rise of internet-based medicine is an irresistible trend, and AI-driven smart healthcare is favored by many investors. But the diagnostic accuracy being so low is cause for concern.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, online diagnosis has played a huge role. As patients develop new habits of seeking care, after the pandemic ends, internet-based medicine is expected to occupy a large share as well. How to use information technology to improve diagnostic accuracy is a test for the current model of online medical care.

Many patients and their families are not reassured by online diagnosis, and this study supports such concerns. Although traditional in-person consultation also involves a great deal of misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis, relatively speaking, it is still far more accurate than online symptom-check systems.

Traditional medical care also provides humanistic care to patients, which is what online diagnosis lacks. In the future, more and more doctors may need to conduct part or all of their work online. It is believed that, as time passes, technology advances, and experience with online diagnosis accumulates, the accuracy of online diagnosis will become higher and higher.

As modern people become increasingly dependent on the internet, online diagnosis is unavoidable. We may need to adapt to this new normal and, within it, strive to improve the effectiveness of diagnosis and treatment while also providing patients with necessary humanistic care through the network.