• by Wayne Friedman , October 31, 2017

With trust issues top of mind in the media these days, a new study says only 14% of consumers trust the health/medical information they are getting on TV from advertising, as well as news programming.

A study from Remedy Health Media, a health publisher that surveyed 750 adults 35+, says the most trusted resources are healthcare providers (80%), health websites (63%) and friends and family (30%).

The research cites that pharmaceutical companies spent 4% more on TV advertising in 2016 -- to $4.06 billion from $3.91 billion the year before in 2015.

When it comes to getting overall health and medical information, respondents say 70% get it from providers and health websites.

Some 36% say they get health/medical information from friends and family; 31% from TV; and 30% from health magazines. Further down the list: email newsletters (22%), pharmaceutical websites (15%), general lifestyle magazines (13%), radio (6%) and podcasts (3%).

Looking more at specific TV information, the research says 35% of those surveyed have never contacted a physician about a medication they saw on TV; 28% have only done so once, while 29% have done so on two to three occasions. Only 7% have done so more than three times.