Importance When confronted with new medical symptoms, many people turn to the internet
to understand why they are ill as well as whether and where they should get care. Such
searches may be harmful because they may facilitate misdiagnosis and inappropriate triage.
Objective To empirically measure the association of an internet search for health information
with diagnosis, triage, and anxiety by laypeople. Design, Setting, and Participants This
survey study used a nationally representative sample of US adults who were recruited …