‘Dr Google’ is often misdiagnosing Australians warn medical professionals.

Yesterday NSW doctors united and urged the public to seek professional medical advice rather than performing a Google search.

Dr Robyn Napier, the medical director of the NSW Australian Medical Association, warned people often misdiagnosed themselves when using Google.

“It’s a serious problem,” she said. “When you take a symptom out of context of the whole body you can’t possibly diagnose.”

According to the International BUPA Health Pulse Feb 2011 survey, 80 per cent of Australian’s jumped online to seek medical advice, while one in two confessed to using the net to diagnose a health problem.

Surveys conducted in Britain revealed 1 in 4 women using ‘Dr Google’ misdiagnosed themselves and subsequently bought the wrong medicine.

Speaking to the Herald Sun, Dr Michael Eistein said people turned to the internet because “they want to get their own information and they want to feel empowered.”