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"Certain news stories clearly resonate with consumers and physicians and proliferate across all media channels. This year, a Supreme Court ruling and presidential election focused the spotlight on health care reform," said Michael Smith, MD, WebMD's Chief Medical Editor. "Both consumers and physicians turned to WebMD and Medscape to better understand how the changing health care system may affect them."
WebMD uniquely understands consumer and physician search and sharing behaviors across mobile and desktop. Mobile devices empower and enable consumers and physicians to make important health decisions anytime, anywhere through our multiscreen platform.
WebMD's Top 10 Stories of the Year:
1. Health Care Reform Under Fire
2. Deadly Diseases
3. New Weight Loss Drugs
4. Do Men Need a PSA Test?
5. Fungal Meningitis Outbreak
6. Are We Sitting Our Lives Away?
7. Where's My Excedrin?
8. The Dangers of Designer Drugs
9. Children Developing (Adult) Chronic Conditions
10. Food and Drink Villains
Medscape Top 10 Stories of the Year:
1. Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Reform
2. Are Physicians Coding Too Many 99214s?
3. 'Imminent Storm' of Medicare Penalties
4. 26% of Small Practices May Close
5. Medicaid, Medicare Raises for Primary Care at Expense of Specialists
6. Fungal Meningitis Outbreak
7. A Year of Firsts
8. Warning on Statins, Fentanyl Patches, Anxiety Drugs, and More
9. Obama Wins 4 More Years to Carry Out ACA
10. List of 45 Dubious Tests, Therapies Launches "Choosing Wisely" Campaign
Mobile and Social Trends
WebMD's Year in Health review found consumers are primarily using mobile devices to search for information about personal topics such as pregnancy, while the stories most shared via social media focused on breaking health news.
WebMD's top five mobile stories included:
1. Am I Pregnant?
2. 8 Early Signs of Pregnancy
3. Lose Weight Fast: How to Do It Safely
4. Bath Salts Drug Dangers
5. Appendicitis
WebMD's top shared stories on Facebook included:
1. New York City's Ban of Super-Sized Drinks
2. The Nesquik Recall
3. The Cantaloupe Recall
4. Deaths Linked to Monster Energy Drink
About the WebMD Year in Health Methodology
WebMD's team of physicians and health editors reviewed aggregate data from the company's Web-based and mobile experiences to identify the leading topics and trends of 2012. The results were based on a number of factors, including search volume and growth, page views and stories shared, and medical significance. All information used to compile WebMD's Year in Health is anonymous - no personally identifiable information was used.
About WebMD
WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ: WBMD) is the leading provider of health information services, serving consumers, physicians, health care professionals, employers, and health plans through our public and private online portals, mobile platforms, and health-focused publications.
The WebMD Health Network includes WebMD Health, Medscape, MedicineNet, eMedicineHealth, RxList,theheart.org, Medscape Education, and other owned WebMD sites.
Web Site: http://www.webmd.com
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