Turning to Dr Google to diagnose medical symptoms is a "terrible" idea - but it can be a useful place to find more information once you've been properly diagnosed, according to a Rotorua GP.
Dr Harry Pert said it was increasingly common to have patients turning to the internet for medical advice.
Research just released by TNS, carried out for the Southern Cross Healthcare Group, showed of the 55 per cent undertaking research online, 21 per cent used it to identify the problem themselves and 4 per cent didn't go to the doctor as a result.
"The trouble is that Google is rubbish. For trying to make a diagnosis it's terrible."
He'd had cases where people had searched various symptoms and come up with "something terrible" wrong with them, when it was something much less serious.
However, he said for those who already had a diagnosis, the internet could be a good place to find out more information on a condition - provided the patient looked at safe sites.
"If you already have a diagnosis it's a fantastic resource."
Rather than just Googling conditions, Dr Pert recommended people search through the Health on the Net Foundation website - which only used accredited linksto provide information people knew was safe.
"You can search within it as you would Google but it only takes you to accredited health sites."
He said in those cases using the internet was safe and "very, very useful".
"If you have a long term health problem the more you know and more information the better."
Dr Pert said modern medicine was about empowering people. He said those with rarer conditions also found that by turning to safe internet sites they could get peer support.
It wasn't just a problem faced by general practitioners.
Lakes District Health Board consultant anaesthetic and clinical director of quality Dr Ulrike Buehner said it was "very common" and they also found people Googled for more information and different treatments once diagnosed.
She said while researching health issues on the internet could be a way of enhancing discussion between patients and health care professionals, the problem was it contained incorrect information.
"A lay person may be overwhelmed by all the information on the internet and find it hard to understand and interpret the detail of information provided."
It could lead to raised expectations like treatment options which weren't available or affordable in New Zealand.
Dr Buehner said it could also "unnecessarily frighten" people.
Anyone with any health issue should always see their GP for medical advice, Dr Buehner said.