Herd It Here First

From the FDA, some excerpts from a press release...

FDA Teams With WebMD For New Online Consumer Health Information
New Partnership to Inform and Educate Tens of Millions of Americans

"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and WebMD today announced a collaboration that expands consumers' access to the agency's timely and reliable important health information. This joint effort reflects the FDA's emphasis on using innovative, technology-based strategies to carry out its foremost mission, which is to promote and to protect the public health.

"WebMD, which attracts nearly 50 million unique visitors each month, provides consumers with credible and timely health news and information.

"Consumers have increasingly consulted all types of sources to find health information, and the Internet is their fastest growing resource, according to a national study released in August 2008 by the Center for Studying Health System Change. Researchers found that 32 percent of American consumers—70 million adults—conducted online health searches in 2007, compared with 16 percent in 2001.

"The study also found that most consumers who researched health concerns reported positive outcomes. More than half of those surveyed said the information changed their overall approach to maintaining their health. Four in five said the information helped them better understand how to treat an illness or condition."

There seems to be a trend for consolidating health and medical news. I get lots of emails every day with a compilation of the day's health headlines. This FDA/WebMD partnership is just another example of consolidating and compiling. While it can be a time-saver in the pressure-cooker environment of the newsroom, it also tends to perpetuate the herd-mentality of the media.