Queensland patients are commonly using search engine Google to rate their medical treatments. Source: AAP
GOOGLE is commonly used to self-diagnose health problems and Queenslanders are also using the search engine to rate their medical treatments.
Complaints about inadequate treatment have more than doubled in two years in Queensland as more patients turn to Google to become more medically informed, the state's health watchdog says.
Health Quality and Complaints Commission (HQCC) CEO Cheryl Herbert says the popular search engine is increasing patients' knowledge about their medical rights and what treatment to expect.
"I think people are becoming more health literate," she said.
"They are able to google things so they know what to expect, or they will get on Google after their appointment."
The HQCC handled 3419 complaints in 2012-13, a five per cent increase on the previous year.
Of those complaints, 2327 were about issues surrounding medical treatment.
Specifically, there were 877 grievances about inadequate treatment, up from 697 in 2011-12 and 369 in 2010-11.
Complaints about medical costs (208) and dentists (226) were also up, according to the health watchdog's annual report.
Professor Herbert said people were distressed by the widening gap between the cost of medical treatments and what private health premiums covered.
When it came to dentistry, patients were unhappy about dental fees and ill-fitting prosthetics.
"In some cases the prosthetics are so painful people can't eat," Prof Herbert said.
While public hospitals were responsible for 996 of the complaints, the number of grievances about correctional facilities jumped from 85 to 211.
Prof Herbert said this was because inmates had been given a specific number for reporting complaints and many were unhappy with the delivery of their medication.
Every complaint - regardless of its source - was an opportunity for improvement, Prof Herbert said.
She said the HQCC had finalised a number of long running investigations, and reduced the number of open investigations that exceeded 12 months from 34 to five.
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