The Doctor Versus the Internet: Effects of Low-, Medium-, and High-Quality Websites on Intentions to Follow the Doctor's Advice.

How do patients respond when advice on health websites differs from advice given by a doctor? To test effects of advice concordance, 418 participants 25-80 years old were randomly assigned to read real websites that varied in quality of information about diabetes: high (medically accurate and complete), medium (accurate but incomplete), and low (inaccurate). The control group read travel sites. Participants then watched a video of a physician making treatment recommendations for a diabetic patient, and indicated how they would respond if they were the patient. There was no direct effect of condition on ratings of doctor credibility or intentions to adhere to the treatment plan, but there was an indirect effect: Those who read high-quality websites gave higher ratings of doctor-website concordance, which predicted greater confidence in the doctor's recommendations, which in turn predicted greater intention to comply.