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Top clinical search terms revealed

By Andrew Redfern @ 18th February 2008 4:58 pm

SearchMedica.com today unveiled its second in a series of reports intended to shed light on what clinical terms and
conditions are most frequently queried on the Internet by doctors and practicing medical professionals.

The new report is based on search query data from Q4 2007.

“While medical professionals can access much of the same information offline, they are choosing to leverage technology to access medical literature in a more convenient and timely manner,” said Cyndy Finnie, senior product manager for SearchMedica.

“Many factors can motivate medical professionals to conduct a search, including the desire to stay informed about new developments or learn more about high profile topics, like the CDC study released last October that suggested Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (i.e. staph) infections were more common than previously thought.

“Seasonality also plays an important role, with special observations like awareness months and special events causing spikes in search volume,” she added. “But regardless of the factors driving the searches, the SearchMedica data enables us to identify the medical terms and conditions that are top-of-mind among medical professionals.”

The top five Q4 general medicine-related searches by medical professionals were:

1. Hypertension (Q3-’07 – cortisol)
2. Osteoporosis (Q3-’07 – HbA1c/glycated hemoglobin)
3. Diabetes (Q3-’07 – dopamine)
4. MRSA (Q3-’07 – aphthous ulcers)
5. Hypothyroidism (Q3-’07 – hypertension)

The top five Q4 psychiatric searches by medical professionals were:

1. Bipolar (Q3-’07 – mood stabilizer)
2. Borderline personality disorder (Q3-’07 – unipolar vs. bipolar depression)
3. OCD (Q3-’07 – asperger’s)
4. ADHD (Q3-’07 – hypomania)
5. Depression (Q3-’07 – bipolar)

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