How the U.S. is Calling in Sick and How You’re Not Alone – This is Not a Guide!
Late last week, Becker’s Hospital Review revealed a list of the most commonly Googled ailments or diseases by state. The results at times reflected on the life and style of some states, but it mostly shone a light on the impact of climate changes on certain parts of the country. The complete list can be found here.
This list sparked our curiosity on what other things we are collectively Googling as a nation. One search in particular, seemed to corroborate the theory that perhaps some of us are looking at the same ailments to validate our thoughts of calling in sick.
Coming in at most searched was a sore throat. Searching for symptoms of a sore throat became very common in Southern California, Detroit, Philadelphia, Nashville, and St. Louis.
Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis, Washington D.C., New York, and parts of Chicago all seem to be affected by the colder climate as they ranked highest in searches for the common cold.
The Eastern side of the map proves that the food may be just as flavorful as it is damaging to the intestines (think hoagies, Coney Dogs, specialty pizzerias, fried pickles, and moon pies). Places like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Charlotte, Atlanta, Nashville, New Orleans, Dallas, and Detroit all had the greatest rankings in searches for ulcers.
Last on the list, with low but still noteworthy searches was the migraine.
Migraines affect more than 5 million people in the United States, but the areas that seem to have been affected the most by this ailment include Portland, Phoenix, Denver, Minneapolis, Boston, St. Louis, and Nashville.
While at first glance it may look silly, information like this has been used as data to predict oncoming trends and even prepares hospitals in certain regions for a wave of a specific ailment.
43% of visits to hospitals/clinic sites originate from a search engine. While some symptoms could have been ignored in the past, clinical websites like Mayo Clinic and WebMD emphasize the importance on seeking medical attention if your listed symptoms are prominent or get worse.
What does this mean for California based Global Healthcare IT, Inc.?
For the time being it means… go ahead and go for a swim SoCal, just remember that the hot afternoon to cool evening transition will make your throat sore and you will be okay.
