Telstra media contact | Martin Barr | M: 0418 101 127
Reference: 149/2009
™ Trade mark of Telstra Corporation Limited
Aussies research health concerns online to avoid embarrassment
Embargoed for release: 12:01 AM, Wednesday 10th June, 2009
June 10, 2009 – More than 60 per cent of Australians head online to research information before
going to a doctor with forty per cent saying they did so to avoid feared embarrassment of talking to
a doctor.
BigPond Health’s Virtual Medical Centre, Dr Joe Kosterich said it wasn’t surprising that amidst
health concerns like the Swine Flu that the public looked to the internet for more information.
“It’s encouraging to see consumers taking an active interest in their health. It’s important that as a
community we’re informed, but if you’re concerned, seek advice from a doctor.
“There’s information online that, once you have your diagnosis, can provide you with a deeper
understanding. If your doctor delivers news that’s devastating, shock can make it difficult to hear or
retain information, and it’s easy to feel dazed, confused and uninformed.
“The internet can provide information written by a range of doctors, including specialists from a
range of different areas including oncology, gastroenterology and cardiology,” Dr Kosterich said.
BigPond Health is Australia’s leading online health information site. There are more than 22,000
pages across the site with expert information supplied by more than 1,000 medical specialists.
Dr Kosterich said there were a couple of things people could do if they wanted to check the
credibility of the health information contained on the website.
1.
If you don’t know who wrote the information or produced the site, give it a miss – there’s no
way to confirm or deny its validity.
2.
Be wary of sites that offer cures or appear to be geared to selling products.
3.
Look for sites, like BigPond Health, that provide comments from a range of qualified
medical doctors.
Justin Milne, Telstra’s Group Managing Director, Media, agreed.
“These days, faster network speeds and added convenience of being able to access the internet or
information on your Next G mobile, mean you can access information in more places.
“The internet offers a great way to find further information - but no matter how embarrassed you
feel, if you have genuine reasons to be concerned, visit your GP,” Mr Milne said.
BigPond Health has 19 categories with current medical information featuring a range of issues
from prescription drugs to diseases and symptoms, treatment, medical trials, the latest research
and news as well as providing support online to patients.
Telstra media contact | Martin Barr | M: 0418 101 127
Reference: 149/2009
™ Trade mark of Telstra Corporation Limited
ABOUT…...
The Research:
This research was conducted online by Pure Profile on behalf of Telstra in May, 2009 on a
representative sample of 1,201 Australians, both male and female, from around the country - in both
metropolitan and regional areas.
BigPond Health was founded eight years ago by Western Australian cancer specialist Dr Andrew
Dean, to deliver much needed cancer information to his patients. At times of stress, when people have
been devastated by a positive diagnosis of cancer or a life threatening disease, information retention is
at its poorest. The website was initially set up as a resource for patients to understand more about their
condition to allow them and their carers to better cope.
Virtual Medical Centre is now Australia’s Number 1 health information and education website, delivering
reliable, trustworthy information to health consumers and medical professionals on a wide variety of
health and lifestyle topics. Each month more than 500,000 visitors view around 5 million pages of
information that has been quality controlled by more than 1,000 Australian medical specialists.
Dr Joe Kosterich is a general practitioner and health industry consultant to a number of industry and
government clients. His passion is wellness and keeping people healthy. Dr Kosterich is the medical
spokesperson for the BigPond Health centre, co founder and CEO of The Australasian Institute of Anti-
ageing Medicine (AIAM) and a cofounder of the Kosby Health Initiative.
Dr Kosterich is previously held senior positions in the Australian Medical Association including
chairmanship of its Federal General practice council and has sat on numerous industry and government
boards. He has also had extensive corporate experience in the setting up and management of medical
centres and has been a writer for a number of medical and mainstream publications. He is the author of
the soon to be released book, Dr Joe’s DIY Health and is also on Twitter:
ENDS
NEWS 
