Use of the Web for Medical Information by a Gastroenterology Clinic Population

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Abstract
As of September 1999, there were an estimated 359 million people in the world online, including 157 million in the United States and Canada.1 A survey by Louis Harris and Associates2 showed that in 1998, 60 million Americans searched for health information online. A random telephone survey performed by Cyber Dialogue3 revealed that half of all online users would be interested in using a Web site operated by their physician's office but only 4% are currently doing so. However, such surveys may be limited by nonresponse bias. In addition, whether these results apply to a clinical population is unknown. We surveyed patients in 2 gastroenterology clinics to determine their use of the Web to obtain medical information, to identify for what information patients search, and to determine how often physicians recommend that patients search the Web.