A study of 400 people presenting to the emergency departments at St Vincent's Hospital and Austin Hospital in Melbourne has found that searching for health information online was a positive step for most, and was unlikely to make them question the diagnosis or advice of their treating doctor.

The study, published today in the Medical Journal of Australia, involved a survey of patients attending hospital between February and May 2017. It found that 49 per cent regularly used the internet for health-related information and 35 per cent reported searching for information on the problem for which they had presented.