The physician and the well-informed patient : Doctors view on well-informed patients

As a patient you can find a lot of information concerning health and diseaseson the Internet. Purpose: The purpose of my study is to gain a betterunderstanding of how physicians relate to well-informed patientsfrom the point of doctor's changing role in meeting the patient related to theweb-based patient information. Today's patients are turning increasingly tothe Internet before they visit their doctor, this is due to the electronic healthinformation is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week while the regulardoctor usually have several weeks of waiting. Problems that can arise with theWeb-based information is that the patient does not have a medical educationto know whether the information is appropriate or not. Method: To explorethese questions, I decided to use both qualitative semi-structured postalquestionnaires and telephone interviews in which the physicians preferreddifferently. My respondents were five licensed physicians who had experienceof many patients encounters. Findings: The physicians in myresearch have an overall positive and relaxed attitude towards patients whoseek information on the Internet. Nevertheless, they say it is important topoint out that its a bad idea to rely only on Internet sources. This becauseInternet is not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. Amedical doctor not only need to make a personal examination but also havethe education, experience and the critical eye that is needed to make the rightdiagnosis. The physicians in my study often prefer the medical professionaljournals to Internet as a result of old habits related to their medical educationand the feeling that these journals are more thrustworty. Still, the physiciansagreed that they sometimes themselves find the World Wide Web useful ifthey are from reliable sources.Program: Bibliotekari