A quick peek at who’s surfing health sites

Survey finds providers lag behind consumers

Internet users will conduct more than 50 million on-line health care information searches this year alone, according to Manhattan Research in New York City. The research firm estimates that figure will increase steadily each year and reach a staggering 150 million on-line health care information searches by 2005.

Who are those Internet users searching for answers to health care questions on-line? Here are the results of a 1999 survey of 3,276 Internet users who use the Web for health purposes. The survey was conducted by Health On The Net Foundation (HON) in Geneva, Switzerland:

• More than 50% of the random international sample of Internet users were women.

• 98% of all respondents reported finding useful medical/health information on the Internet.

• 88% of all respondents reported that they "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that they were able to find the medical/health information they were seeking.

• 71% either "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that the quality of medical/health information on the Internet needs to improve.

• 74% of American physicians and 55% of European physicians reported primarily accessing the Internet from home rather than work.

• 31% of the health care professionals who responded to the survey were nurses, making nurses the most active users of the Internet in the sample.

• 65% of nurses in the United States and Canada access the Internet primarily from home, compared with 53% of nurses in Europe.

• 69% of American and Canadian health care Internet users in the survey were older than 40; 38% were older than 50.

• 79% of all respondents said they use the Internet to seek information on pharmaceutical drugs.

• 81% of American health care professionals in the sample reported using the Internet to seek information on pharmaceutical drugs.

• 58% of all respondents said they discuss drug information they find on the Internet with their health care providers.

• 29% of all patients in the sample said they "mostly" search the Internet for evidence from the clinical trials of new drugs.

• 16% of all respondents said they buy drugs on the Internet.

• 32% reported they have used on-line medical consultation services offered by health care Web sites.

• 21% of all patients in the sample reported communicating with care providers via e-mail.

HON is a nonprofit source of medical and health information. In addition to its annual survey of health care Internet users, it has developed a code of conduct for medical Web sites.

(For additional information and a copy of the HON code of conduct, visit the organization’s Web site at www.hon.ch.)