18. How Online Symptom Checkers Impact Healthcare in Brookside, UK
In Brookside, a small town in the UK, Emma, a young professional, becomes convinced she has a rare disease after reading symptoms on WebMD and other health sites. This leads to unnecessary medical tests and anxiety. The town's healthcare providers are overwhelmed by similar cases.
Individual outcomes
Emma and others like her experience heightened health anxiety and a loss of trust in medical professionals when their self-diagnose is not accepted by trained doctors. Emma is convinced she is sick and starts to miss days at work.
Societal outcomes
Societally, the healthcare system faces increased pressure and resource allocation issues.
Competences involved in this scenario:
Social systems affected by this scenario:
M6. Claim verification
D3. Search engines and user profiling
S4. Official and unofficial sources
Healthcare Providers
Public Health Systems
Media