Interviews with 402 randomly selected health professionals identified the information habits health professionals used to remain informed on advances in medicine. The use of various information sources was related to such factors as the type of practice, specialty, location of practice, professional''s age and the size of the primary hospital. Besides medical literature, the most common source, the typical responder spent 1-5 h each week in discussions with colleagues. He or she also spent 5-10 h each year at local professional meetings, 5-10 h/yr at state meetings, 10-15 h/yr at national meetings and 10-15 h/yr at educational courses sponsored by various medical schools. Unsolicited medical literature was used extensively, particularly by those in rural, solo practice.